


Chicago Haven

by ThomE_Gemcity_06



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Double Identities, Dual Identitiesm, Flashbacks, Gen, M/M, Magic, Mason Lockwood is Kelly Severide, Meredith Fell is Natalie Manning, Multiple Crossovers, Mystic Falls is a Possessive Bitch, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond, Season 5 Vampire Diaries, Stefan Salvatore WitSec, Stefan Salvatore is Tom Avery, Stefan Whump, Super Fudged Up TImelines, Temporary Amnesia, Temporary Character Deaths, The Immortality Cure, Tommy Merlyn is Connor Rhodes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26880499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomE_Gemcity_06/pseuds/ThomE_Gemcity_06
Summary: \\ Stefan didn't care if he spent eternity drowning in the quarry, desiccated and trapped in his own mind, there was a reason why he made Mason Lockwood and Meredith Fell disappear, there was a reason why Tommy Merlyn could never step foot into Mystic Falls. He would not let this town claim them as it had him the moment he took his first breath of its air. //
Relationships: (past) Meredith Fell/Alaric Saltzman, Connor Rhodes & Natalie Manning, Stefan Salvatore & Connor Rhodes, Stefan Salvatore & Meredith Fell, Stefan Salvatore & Natalie Manning, Stefan Salvatore & Tommy Merlyn, Stefan Salvatore/Kelly Severide, Stefan Salvatore/Mason Lockwood, Tom Avery/Kelly Severide, Tommy Merlyn & Meredith Fell
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	Chicago Haven

**Author's Note: [THE BEGINNING/END NOTES DON'T SEEM TO WANT TO WORK FOR ME ANYMORE :( ]**

**ARROW-CHICAGO FIRE-CHICAGO MED. Our main characters are Stefan Salvatore, Tommy Merlyn|Connor Rhodes, Mason Lockwood|Kelly Severide, and Meredith Fell|Natalie Manning. And the main romantic pairing is Stefan Salvatore/Mason Lockwood|Kelly Severide. The timeline is gonna be super fudged up; It'll mainly be set in present Vampire Diaries Season 5, with flashbacks set in Season 2 & 3, flashbacks set Arrow Season 1 & pre-Season 1,**

**ITALICS and CENTERED are flashbacks.**

* * *

**~ _The Vampire Diaries_ ~ & <aRRoW>**  
**& Chicago|MED & Chicago|FIRE**

**—**

**Chicago Haven**

Stefan Salvatore shouldn't have been all that surprised, and really, he wasn't. He would expect nothing less from his quant little home town of Mystic Falls. She was his destiny from the moment he was born inside her boarders and she wasn't about to let him go now that he finally had his freedom within arms length and every intention of never coming back to her again until it was time to put him to ground.

"So, this is it, your true form?" he wondered, looking at the cocky face of both his ex-girlfriends, Mystic Falls' harbingers of his imprisonment. Katherine turning him, Elena keeping him tethered, and now Silas. "You're one of them?"

"No," Silas' appearance changed to reflect Stefan, his visage glowing rose in the tail light. "You are one of _me_. But then, there can only _be_ one of me."

No. His was the face of his own imprisonment. For the first time in his life, it all made sense. **_This_**. Like a secret about himself he never knew was there. Now revealed, it all fell into place. He was the doppelgänger, the distant descendant of a powerful, ancient, psychic witch.

Stefan could only laugh in the face of his new reality, before it turned into a grunt of pain as Silas drove a stake into his stomach. "It's nice to see you enjoying this as much as I am, doppelgänger." Stefan stumbled back as the immortal witch shoved him into the safe. "I'll just be taking what you stole, back." He fished the wax capsule with the immortality cure in it from the vampire's jacket pocket. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your friends and brother—they won't even notice you're away." He chuckled. "Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and enjoy the ride, My Shadow!" Silas slammed the door, spun the crank with enthusiasm, and booted the safe over the side of the cliff into the falls. He hopped into the waiting SUV without a backward glance.

The fall was thunderous as the safe crashed into the outcropping of the cliff side, before tumbling down into the water below, broken rock following after. The rough descent had driven the stake into him completely. The journey to the bottom was like a feather's descent in comparison as the safe started to fill with icy water.

He pounded and kick and strained against the door, focusing his efforts on a single point. The steel groaned under the stress of his vampiric strength. He took one last gulping breath before the entire interior was filled with water. It thunked against the bed of the quarry, something popped in the mechanism, the door started to lift. His lungs strained. There was a loud crashing thud as the safe door slammed shut on him, the large chunk of boulder settled onto the safe, locking him back inside, the marking to his watery grave.

Bubbles imprisoned his anguish. A psychic pulse sent shockwaves through the water, stirring up the silt and clouding the quarry water, but he was already in darkness.

**< aRRoW>**

_The dark sky lit up like purple as lightening flashed in the clouds. Tommy flinched as the loud crack of thunder followed after, his control of his bicycle jerking briefly off course before he steadied again, his breath gasping in puffs of condensation before him. He shivered, his pyjamas soaked through, dark hair plastered to his skull from the heavy rain, but his joints didn't lock up for the bone deep cold as he peddled desperately through the empty, dark streets with an intangible need and urgency to get to his destination, a road map that would forever be etched in his memory._

_It was raining the night his mom has been killed, too. But it was bright and sunny the day of her funeral. It still gave him nightmares watching her being lowered into the ground, her casket shrouded with beautiful flowers, one placed there by his own hands._

_His brakes squeaked and his tires skidded on the wet pavement as he finally came to a halt, his bike crashing carelessly to the ground as the eight year old stared up at the imposing wrought iron gates before him. His hand trembled as his fingers wrapped around the bar and pushed, cringing as the metal squealed. Tommy quickly slipped through the crack into the Starling City Cemetery, his arms wrapped around his shivering form as he splashed through the puddles on the stone walkway._

_Tommy had found the graveyard terrifying in the daylight. Now, shrouded in night and intermittently brought to view with a flash of lightening and the rumbling boom of thunder that made him flinch and jerk each time, fighting the instinct to pull covers over his head that weren't there and hunker in the safety it provided... it was more than ominous._

_He quickly found himself disoriented, blinded by the rain in his eyes. He looked helplessly around him, a maze of seemingly identical headstones surrounding him. He bit his bottom lip and swallowed down the sob of fear in his chest. He tightened his self-hug._

_The little hairs on his nape rose on end and he shuddered at the sensation, warning him he wasn't alone, even as he tried to convince himself that it was just his fear playing tricks with him being in the cemetery alone at night._

_Tommy forced himself to turn around, and like it was giving him a helping hand, lightning flashed, momentarily bringing the cemetery to clarity—and the fact that he was far from alone._

_..._

_Stefan stared forlornly at the name engraved into the headstone, **Rebecca Merlyn** , paying no heed to the thunderstorm and the heavy rain flooding the ground. He regretted that he had missed the funeral and had only found out about her death months later._

_He made it his responsibility to keep an eye on his family, even as distant they may be to not even carry the Salvatore name; there were just too few left in the world. Rebecca's side was an off-shoot of Salvatores that had left Mystic Falls and the supernatural behind, but kept up the lumber business. Even still, it seemed a peaceful death was a rarity amongst the Salvatores, the family curse._

_He sighed and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. How he wished he could have prevented such a wasteful tragedy, not just of a Salvatore, but anyone. He turned his face toward the sky, the pounding rain both stinging his skin and washing away his silent tears. Lightning flashed through his eyelids and he waited for the rumble of thunder that always seemed to follow in its wake only to hear a scream instead._

_An instant before he heard it, he felt his mind brush another's; it was a stranger, yet familiar, family—and they were terrified. His eyes snapped open and his body just reacted instinctively. Moving with vampire speed, his booted feet barely made a splash through the puddles as he zigzagged his way through the scattered gravestones, simply leaping over shorter ones._

_Besides the mind his touched on, he managed to sense three other heartbeats with his current heightened senses, his true face present, through the pounding of the rainfall._

_..._

_"Get back here, you little bastard! We just want to have a chat with ya!"_

_Tommy tried to run faster but there was no traction for his sneakers on the flooded and slippery grass as he dodged through gravestones. He was scared out of his mind and all he knew was that he needed to get away from those men with the shovels._

_Deafened by the pounding rain and his gasping breath, he chanced a look behind him at his pursuers, only to barely make out a thing with the water in his eyes. He cried out as his shoulder knocked into the edge of a gravestone and he was knocked to the muddy ground. He groaned, sputtering and coughing at the muddy water._

_He screamed as the back of his shirt was grabbed. He clawed at the ground and kicked out at his attacker, squirming, twisting around. Fabric ripped. He had an instant to make out the form of one of the grave robbers above him, still unable to make out his face clearly—but the monstrous face that appeared behind the man's was in clarity as lightning flashed. Menacing fanged teeth, eyes bleeding red like a demon. The grave robber's scream was lost in the boom of thunder as he was yanked back into the dark cemetery to disappear through sheets of rain._

_Tommy whimpered and scrambled backward until his back hit something cold and solid against the exposed skin of his back from his torn shirt. An angel statue loomed over him in protection. He drew his knees to his chest, teeth chattering louder than the rain as he looked rapidly around him._

_He heard a confused call from one of the men suddenly cut short. He saw the dark form of the last just vanish before his eyes, silent but for the sharp cracking sound that was as scary as the booms of thunder tearing the sky. Tommy's breath seized in his chest as his eyes locked on the fourth figure slowly approaching him head-on and bit his lip with a whimper, trying to curl himself smaller. He didn't want to be buried alone in the ground like his mother even if he got beautiful flowers for it!_

_He flinched as he felt a warm weight thrown across him and he instinctively snuggled into the warmth of the jacket, as the figure crouched a short distance from him and blurted, "You're a monster."_

_"Yes," the monster said solemnly._

_Sadly, Tommy realized, as he caught sight of his normal, human face. His forest green eyes. And the eight year old found himself shaking his head rapidly. "No," he decided suddenly but firmly, "You rescued me. Monsters don't save people, heroes do!"_

_His mouth quirked wryly. "You can just call me Stefan."_

_"I'm T-Tommy." His teeth chattered._

_"Those men can't hurt you anymore, Tommy." Stefan promised. "I'm sorry I didn't feel you earlier, that I didn't sense them sooner through the rain."_

_"What do you m-mean?"_

_Stefan touched his temple, "I felt your mind." He touched his heart, "And looking at you now... I realize I felt her heart." His expression softened, "I'm so sorry about your mother, Tommy. Neither of you deserved this."_

_Tommy's pale face crumpled in reawakened grief. "You knew my mom?"_

_Stefan nodded. "She was family. You are family, Tommy."_

_"Are you my uncle?"_

_A brief smile filtered across his lips, "Something a little more distant than that." Stefan stood. "Let's get you home safe and warm, your mom would not be very happy with me if you get sick."_

_Tommy nodded. But he was cold and tired and the adrenaline from the attack had faded and he wavered on his feet. Stefan easily caught him and swung him up into his arms. "Whoa."_

_Tommy was shaking like leaf and Stefan instinctively hugged the boy closer despite not being able to offer up much by the way of body heat as he made his way from the cemetery. He could only assume the bike dropped carelessly to the ground in front of the gate was Tommy's. He couldn't believe the kid biked there in a thunderstorm and pyjamas!_

_Stefan glanced down at the boy starting to doze off in his arms with resistance. He didn't want to think about what might have happened had he not been at Rebecca's grave tonight to save Tommy from those grave robbers. He walked to his car just down the street from the cemetery gate and settled Tommy into the passenger seat, not caring at the moment about the mud and rain water staining his upholstery. He turned the ignition on and blasted the heat before going back to grab the bike. After clearing his bags from the boot at the head of his car, he managed to fit the bike in without obscuring his view and stowed the bags in the space behind the seat. He tucked the blanket he'd found around Tommy before doing up his seatbelt around him._

_The heavy rain pelted heavily against the outside of the car. The windshield wipers squeaked as they worked relentlessly to keep his field of vision clear. The wheels splashed cascades of water around them as he drove through deep puddles towards the Merlyn residence. Stefan thought it was simply reckless for anyone to be driving in this torrential pour—particularly humans. He had no ideal how Tommy hadn't just been swept away on his bike._

_Tommy seemed to instinctively know he was back home, rousing as Stefan drove up the stone, circular drive up to the front entrance. He blinked in completely befuddlement in the security lights shining through the rain. He instinctively tensed as his gaze landed on Stefan._

_"Tommy, it's Stefan, remember?" the vampire voiced in a soothing tone. "You're home now, your safe."_

_Tommy nodded slowly, slumping back into the seat tiredly. "I'm cold."_

_"We'll get you warmed up," Stefan promised. "Who else is home?"_

_"I-Ingrid. She looks after me."_

_Stefan went around to the other side of the car and took the small, shivering body into his arms again. He sped through the downpour up the front steps and set Tommy on his feet at the door. Huddle in the damp blanket, the boy went through the unlocked front door. Tommy looked back in confusion when Stefan didn't follow him in._

_"I have to go, Tommy." Stefan told him with regret._

_"But you just got here."_

_"I'm sorry, Tommy. It's better this way. It's safer."_

_"It's not fair!" he protested. "Mom left, dad left, you can't leave, too. You're family, family's not supposed to leave!" Tommy cried. The blanket fell from around his shoulders as he jumped forward and grabbed Stefan's arm. Stefan stumbled forward a couple steps, only to stop short at the magic threshold barrier, his arm pressed at an awkward angle against the invisible wall. Tommy was devastated and confused as he met undeniable resistance. The damp material of Stefan's sweater sleeve, even the large jewel set in the ring on his middle finger made it passed the invisible threshold of the door, but skin and bone would not. "I don't understand."_

_"Like you said, Tommy, I'm a monster and monsters aren't invited in."_

_"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"_

_"I know," Stefan said softly, crouching to get eyelevel. "But that doesn't mean it's not the truth."_

_"It's not true! You're not a monster. Please. Just come in, Stefan. Don't leave." Tommy gave one last futile tug, only it wasn't so futile this time. Stefan toppled through the threshold at the unintended invitation and had just enough time to get his hand behind Tommy's head before it connected with the marble flooring in the foyer and not crush the small body beneath him._

_"Tommy, are you okay?" Stefan demanded, looking down at him._

_Tommy's startled expression morphed into a huge grin as he laughed and threw his arms around Stefan's neck. "That just proves you're not a monster."_

_"I guess you're right," he capitulated to the boy, hugging back with a heavy sigh. "Let's get you dry and in bed, hm?" Stefan kicked off his mud-logged boots and picked Tommy up again, making his way up the grand staircase._

_He ran a hot bath for Tommy to wash and get warm, surreptitiously checking the exposed skin for injury, pleased when he found none. With Tommy settled in the tub, Stefan went back downstairs, grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the door, and flitted out to his car to grab his bag from the back with clothes in it; he had no intention of staying but he wasn't keen on staying in these dirty damp clothes either._

_Keeping his ears and mind peeled to Tommy, Stefan washed up in the downstairs bathroom and changed. He spent a few moments in the kitchen before locating Tommy's bedroom and grabbing him fresh, dry pyjamas._

_He poked his head in on Tommy, pleased to note that the boy's shivering had stopped. "Done washing up, Tommy?"_

_"Mm-mm." Tommy shook his head. "You still have to wash my hair, Uncle Stefan."_

_Stefan stilled for an instant in the doorway. The title of 'Uncle Stefan' was not a new one for him. All the Salvatores were descended from his half-brother, so he was uncle to all his family, 'great' tact on again and again with each generation that passed so he didn't understand why he was so affected by Tommy calling him such._

_"It appears that's the case," he noted wryly as he approached the tub, the kid's dark hair matted with mud. Tommy hummed, head leaned back as Stefan scrubbed the mud from his hair. From the bath, Tommy dressed in a plaid pyjama set and Stefan towel-dried his mop hair. The glass of milk Stefan had left on the nightstand had been piping hot but had since cooled and he was happy enough to drink it, dry, warm, and tucked back into bed._

_Tommy fought against the heavy drag of sleep. "I don't want to fall asleep." He flinched at the coincidental rumbling thunder that falsely punctuated the statement and Stefan misread it._

_Sat on the edge of the bed, the vampire soothingly carded the bangs from the boy's forehead. "It's okay, you won't remember any of this." He promised quietly, having every intention on taking tonight's memories away, of the grave robbers and of himself._

_"I don't want to forget."_

_"All I want to do is keep you safe, Tommy. It's safer this way."_

_"But I'm safe with you!" he protested, relaxing despite himself at Stefan's soothing and familiar ministrations; it's what his mom did after he had a nightmare. Oh, how Stefan wished it was true, how desperately he wished. "Please don't leave me," was the young Merlyn's last plea before sleep finally claimed his exhausted body and mind._

_Stefan was conflicted, even though he knew what the right thing to do was—reach into Tommy's mind and pluck out the strand that tethered the memory, pulling it free from existence. His Power reached out to do just that, with Tommy asleep, it would be all the more easier... Stefan's hand stilled in the boy's soft hair as the felt the link. It was already too late, the vampire realized, the moment he felt Tommy's mind in the cemetery, he'd already psychically imprinted on his mind._

_He sighed and gazed softly at the slumbering boy, his fingers continuing their path. "I won't."_

_And before Stefan knew it, nearly two years went by. Two years that he took care of Tommy from the shadows, that Stefan Salvatore all but vanished from the face of the earth, until Ingrid got word that Malcolm Merlyn was finally returning home._

_When the new ten year old realized that meant Stefan was leaving, he was not having it. "No!" Tommy refused. He stood in front of the door, defiant, arms crossed over his chest. "You're not allowed to leave. I invited you in and now I'm telling you, you can't leave. So, you have to stay."_

_"It doesn't work like that, Tommy." Stefan told him softly in regret._

_"No!" Tommy shook his head rapidly. "If him coming back means that you have to leave, then I don't want him to come back!" he hadn't understood before, when his father left, he didn't have any control or power. He hadn't fought when his father left, the ten year old wasn't going to make the same mistake with the man who he wished was. "I wish you were my dad!" Tommy sobbed._

_Stefan's heart broke at the little boy's turmoil and grief, and pulled him against his chest. Tommy had slipped before a few times over the past two years and called him 'dad', but it was never a bold declaration like it was now. Even though Stefan knew it was because Tommy was upset, the title was a double-edged sword through the heart; a devastating blow and an old dream revived; wishing it could be true only for reality to crash upon his head. Tommy would never be his son, no child would ever legitimately call him 'dad'. That life was no longer in Stefan's purview, so he would save the kin that he did have._

_He dropped to his knees in the foyer and hugged the crying boy to his chest. "I might be leaving, but I will never be gone. We'll always be connected, Tommy. By blood, by heart... by mind. I can't be here with you physically, but I will never leave you. If you ever need me, if you really need me, I'll feel it, Tommy. We're connected, so long as I live," he promised, "And seeing as I'm practically immortal, it'll be forever." He thumbed away the tears staining Tommy's blotchy cheeks. "I love you, Tommy."_

_"I love you," Tommy sniffled. "Promise?"_

_"I will never stop loving you and I will always protect you." Stefan vowed, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He had no illusion that one day this would happen, he was just lucky that he got the time he had with Tommy. It was time to go home himself. Zach was expecting his first child and Stefan wanted to be there to meet the new Salvatore._

**MED|** CHICAGO **|FIRE**

"... This is good news," Dr Natalie Manning assured their patient when the man still looked worried. "This is a common disorder and the procedure to fix it is simple and non-invasive, no major surgery like we first thought might be the case."

"Doctor Manning is completely right." Dr Connor Rhodes added. "In and out in two hours, and you'll be discharged before the day is over. I'll tell you what... I can do this procedure in my sleep, but I promise I'll be wide awake for your surgery."

"I would appreciate that, Doc."

"You're in great hands, Mr Lewis." Natalie promised.

"A tech will be down shortly to bring you up, hang tight." Connor patted the foot rail and followed Natalie from the exam room pulling the curtain closed. Natalie rolled her shoulders and cleared her throat, hand to her chest. "You okay?" he asked, but took a minute shift from his friend a moment later, "You're not getting sick, are you? Babies are basically germ incubators and sick doctors are taboo. If you so much as sniffle, fair warning, I love you so I'll sic April on you, but then I'm out!" he held up his hands in a 'not touching that!' gesture.

She scoffed. "This is the thanks I get for nursing you through the flu during boards?"

"That's what friends are for." He poked her affectionately on the shoulder with a finger.

"Right." Natalie smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand. "I'm not getting sick, Owen is not sick either, but thanks for your concern, _friend_."

Connor chuckled. "You're welcome."

"Incoming!" Maggie called out. "Dr Manning, you're up. Dr Rhodes, mind pitching in?"

"For you, Maggie? Always," Connor winked. Maggie rolled her eyes but smirked as she turned away.

Natalie grabbed a pair of gloves from a nearby carton. "Do tell, Dr Rhodes, why are you in such a chipper mood today?"

"What she actually means, Rhodes," Dr Will Halstead quipped as he swooped by, "Is tone it down, you're making the rest of us look bad!"

"You should stick around, Halstead," Connor called back good naturedly, snapping on latex gloves, "Maybe it'll rub off on you. You could clearly use it."

"One minute!" Maggie warned.

Connor sucked in a sharp breath as a sudden icy chill washed over him. He felt the sensation of a hook in his chest yanked from behind. He grabbed the of the counter at the nurses station. "Nat!" he called out in confusion and warning as the EMTs came through the ED doors with their new patient, because this wasn't normal—it was supernatural! The second time it happened, pressure in his head compounded and his eyes rolled into his skull as his consciousness was ripped from his body.

"Connor!" Natalie shouted, diving for her friend as she saw him go into freefall. She couldn't take his full weight and went down with him, but at least she managed to stop him from cracking his skull open on the floor. An icy chill washed over her and for an instant, she was no longer in the ED, but darkness and cold, and burning in her lungs.

"Dr Halstead, take over!" Maggie ordered, pointing him toward their waiting incoming. Will shot a worried glance toward Natalie and Connor before focusing on his new patient.

Natalie came back to herself with a sharp gasp at the hand on her shoulder. Shaking off the sensation of drowning, she pushed herself up and gave a nod to April. She got to his pulse and breath sounds before they got Connor onto a gurney and into a room; steady and even.

"What happened?" April questioned, attaching leads to the monitor on his chest. "Did he have a seizure?"

"Unclear. I didn't see any convulsions. Come on, Connor!" Natalie rubbed his sternum with her knuckles but there was no response to the painful stimuli. "Pupils are reactive and even."

"Stroke?"

"God, I hope not." Natalie muttered. "Okay. Lets get a rainbow workup on his blood, a CT, and page Dr Abrams for a neurology consult."

"Got it."

"Dr Manning, incoming." Maggie told her at the room threshold.

"Isn't there--" Natalie started to protest, her focus on Connor.

"No, there isn't." Maggie said evenly. "It's Kelly Severide."

"What?" Natalie's focus snapped to the head nurse.

"He collapsed at an accident scene, they're bring him in."

"April," Natalie started.

"I got this," April promised. "I'll put a rush on his blood. Just take care of Kelly."

Natalie nodded, squeezed Connor's limp hand and followed Maggie out. "Talk to me, Brett, what's going on?" she met the firehouse paramedic.

"Collapsed in the field from unknown causes. No physical trauma. All his stats are within normal range. Air way and breath sounds are good. Pulse is steady. No response to sternum rub."

"Alright. In here, let's get him transferred to a bed." Natalie followed Maggie's direction to an empty room.

"That sounds just like Dr Rhodes, Dr Manning." Maggie commented.

"Dr Rhodes collapsed?" Brett asked in concern as they transferred Kelly to a bed. "Do you think they have the same illness?"

"Don't know anything yet," Natalie said as she started her examination on her unconscious friend. "He collapsed ten minutes ago."

"Do you think its a coincidence Severide collapsed ten minute's ago, too?"

Natalie stilled and looked up at the blond, hovering in the doorway. "Are you sure?" Brett nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. I got him from here."

"We'll call if anything changes," Maggie promised. After the paramedic made her reluctant leave, the head nurse turned back to the doctor. "Anything you need?"

"April." Natalie said. "And can we push back the wall separating their rooms, make it easier for everyone?"

"You got it." Maggie disappeared and a moment later April appeared with a concerned frown.

"What do you need?"

"The same battery of tests from Connor for Kelly." Though Natalie was starting to suspect they would get zero answers from them. Both Kelly and Connor collapsing without warning, across town from another, at the same time? That was no coincidence. Put together with the psychic contact flash she got from Connor, and their collective pasts before Chicago, there was only one supernatural connection—Stefan Salvatore.

**< aRRoW>**

_Stefan could sense Tommy amongst the crowded bar filled with fresh-faced, if drunk, residents celebrating an end to their internships, but it was the newly appointed Dr Merlyn that found him._

_"I can't believe you came!" Tommy called, throwing his arms around the vampire in a bear hug._

_"And miss the big day?" Stefan clapped him on the back. "You're all grown up now, Dr Merlyn. I'm proud of you," he murmured sincerely into the dark-haired man's ear before they were jostled apart by the crowd._

_He knew it had been a difficult past two years since the Queen's Gambit when down in a storm at sea and Tommy's best friend in life, Oliver Queen had been declared dead. Oliver was Tommy's Lexi; Stefan didn't know what he would do with himself if he lost Lexi, but Tommy had pushed through the grief, he persevered, kept on track with his studies, hadn't let himself spiral out of control, and here he was now, a resident and certified physician._

_"Aw, shucks, **zio** ," Tommy grinned. "Keep that up and you'll make me blush!"_

_"Such false modesty—you really have grown up!" Stefan teased._

_Tommy could only roll his eyes. "Come on, I've got a booth in back." He virtually ground with every body he had to squeeze passed, the place was so packed; with his enhanced agility, Stefan's clothes were barely ruffled as he took the advantage of the one second slipstream left in the man's wake before the mass of bodies closed in on itself again. "So, um, I know this is a little sudden, but don't freak out..."_

_Stefan frowned at him. "Why would I freak out?"_

_Tommy slid into the booth next to a woman. "Stefan, this is Meredith."_

_Stefan shot Tommy a confused look as he slid in the other side across from the pair. "Apparently you're what I shouldn't freak out about. Did you marry and not tell me?"_

_Meredith snorted and made a face. "I'm not that desperate. No offence," she told Tommy._

_"Offence taken!" he played wounded._

_"You're just sensitive."_

_He pouted. "Clearly, fun and awesome aren't your type."_

_"Denial is not my type." She quipped._

_"And mean isn't mine, so there!" he stuck out his tongue. She chuckled and he smiled._

_Meredith turned to Stefan and pushed a third tumbler across the table to him. "Tommy said whiskey was your preferred poison."_

_"Thank you," Stefan said. "And as Tommy so eloquently put it, I'm Stefan Salvatore." He flicked a questioning brow at Tommy, who was being a bit fidgety. "It's nice to met you." He offered his hand across the table._

_"You, too." She shook his hand. "I'm Meredith Fell."_

_Stefan's mind hummed quietly at the contact, internally taken aback with revelation, though he didn't let it show externally. Meredith's shoulders stiffened marginally as she gripped his hand._

_"Fell," Stefan repeated slowly as their hands retracted, shooting a look at Tommy._

_"And you said 'Salvatore', right? That's interesting."_

_"You wouldn't happen to be from a little town called Mystic Falls, Virginia, would you?"_

_"I am. And I have an inkling that you are, too." Meredith took a drink of her bourbon and looked at the brunette curiously. "I admit, I was surprised to find you're a vampire."_

_Stefan unnaturally stilled and shot a subtle look at Tommy. Tommy's hands flew up in innocence. "I didn't say anything!" Stefan heaved a sigh because the doctor all but just did. "Oops?"_

_Stefan looked back to Meredith. "I take it you're on the Founders Council, then." Stefan had tried his damnedest yet, Tommy was touched by Mystic Falls anyway. "Is there vervain in my whiskey?" he wondered, turning the tumbler that he had yet to take a drink from around on the table top idly. Tommy looked at the woman in shocked-surprise, but Meredith looked a little surprised at the accusation herself._

_"Why would I do that?" she wondered and it was Stefan's turn to be taken by surprise. "I'm not really into the whole 'death to vampires' shtick that's the Council motto. Vampires are just like everybody else, there are good and there are bad."_

_"If it helps," Tommy piped up helpfully, "Stefan is on a strict animal diet." Stefan gave the man another look and Tommy cleared his throat and downed the rest of his own scotch on the rocks. "I may be somewhat buzzed."_

_"Somewhat?" Stefan uttered drily._

_Meredith's brows rose in interest. "I've never known an vampire who only feeds on animals."_

_"I've never met one either." Stefan joked, finally taking a swallow of his whiskey._

_"Well, I think this is great." Tommy looked between them. "I'm glad how this unexpectedly worked out. So," he questioned Meredith, "How did you know he was a vampire?"_

_"I'm curious about that, too." Stefan agreed. "Even vampires have a difficult time figuring each other out." He remembered how he'd mistaken Lexi for a human the first time he met her and attacked to feed; she certainly put him in his place for that._

_Meredith only shrugged. "I've always had a sort of sixth-sense when it comes to picking out vampires."_

_Stefan regarded her with new interest. "I hope by your reactions earlier," he started, "That you two aren't in a sexual relationship."_

_Tommy sputtered. "What the hell, Stefan?"_

_"And why would that be any of your business?" Meredith wondered._

_"You share a distant Salvatore relative." He supplied simply._

_Tommy slumped heavily back against the seat, reeling. "You couldn't have phrased it differently?"_

_Stefan just shrugged at Tommy but gave Meredith an apologetic look. "No offence meant."_

_"We're friends and study-buddies," Meredith waved it off. "How could you possibly know that we're related?"_

_"Like you sensed my vampirism when we shook hands, I sensed your Salvatore blood."_

_"Huh. I didn't realize that was a thing that vampires could do."_

_Stefan glanced at Tommy. "It's not."_

_"Ah. So, you're a Salvatore?" Meredith asked Tommy. "But you're not from Mystic Falls."_

_"My mother's side of the family," Tommy nodded. "They left Mystic Falls and the Council behind and took the family's legit business to the distant lands of Starling City."_

_"So, that means we're related, too." She said to Stefan. "Exactly how closely related are we?"_

_"Distant uncle."_

_Meredith narrowed her eyes over the rim of her glass as she drank slowly._

_"He gave me the same answer when I asked him," Tommy said._

_Meredith leaned forward. "Exactly how old are you, Stefan? 'Cause from where I'm sitting, I'm wondering if I really should have given you that drink." She smirked._

_Stefan chuckled and sat back in amusement. He contemplated the question as he finished said drink. "There are a couple of different ways I could answer that."_

_Tommy huffed. "You're such a damn tease, **zio**. I'll grab refills." He collected their glasses and slithered from the booth into the crowd leaving the two alone._

_" **Zio**?" Meredith asked._

_His expression softened. "It's Italian for 'uncle'."_

_"You two must be close," she murmured._

_"We are," he said softly and sighed heavily. "I try to keep my distance, it's safer for everyone that way. Just by simply being a vampire, it's a preternatural disposition that eventually calls trouble."_

_She looked at him with sympathy. "That sounds like a lonely existence, Stefan."_

_Lexi and intermittent interactions with his brother helped to assuage the worst of it. "But when I met Tommy, before I even fully realized it, he had already pulled me in."_

_"He does seem to have that magnetism." Meredith mused. "Not that I'd ever tell him that." Stefan chuckled._

_"The conquering hero has returned!" Tommy declared, slightly flushed as he emerged from the crowd with a tray full of shots and quickly shoved in beside Stefan before he could be jostled. "Going by the sudden silence, you were talking about me—awesome things, I know."_

_"Oh, you must be drunk." Meredith commented. "You're having delusions of grandeur."_

_Tommy pouted and obnoxiously clung to Stefan. "She's being mean, **zio** , make her stop."_

_Stefan gave a long-suffering sigh and stole a shot crowding the tray. "You're family, I'm sure you can work out your differences."_

_Meredith quickly snapped a picture on her cell phone before she could no longer contain her amusement and openly laughed. "I think that means he's taking my side," she teased the Merlyn._

_Tommy was aghast, hand dramatically over his heart. "Going for the kill shot right out of the gate, cousin."_

_Meredith winked. "Gotta make up for lost time with our mysterious distant uncle."_

_"Alright, alright. Settle down," the voice of reason, Stefan slid a shot towards them in either direction. "I have ample enough time for the both of you."_

_Tommy happily accepted the shot and clinked glasses with Meredith in cease fire. "Did you tell her your ages yet?" he wondered and Stefan shook his head. "I thought we could play a little drinking game with the shots."_

_"Oh?" Meredith's eyebrow rose, her interest piqued. "Exactly what did you have in mind?"_

_"We talk, get to know each other. And you try to guess Stefan's ages." Tommy explained. "If you're 'hot', Stefan takes a shot, if you're 'cold', you do. Simple."_

_"And what about you?" Stefan questioned, "What's your part in all this?"_

_"The referee, of course! I know you two better than you know each other."_

_"I'm game if you are," Meredith told Stefan. "Fair warning, I can hold my drink."_

_Stefan smirked. "Vampire metabolism."_

_Meredith got a sly expression, "Ref, seeing as MDU has a supernatural advantage, I believe a handicap is appropriate—two shots for every my one."_

_Tommy pursed his lips in contemplation before whipping out a bottle of vodka from places unknown and banging it against the tabletop like a gavel to seal his verdict. "The referee concurs! There's more than enough alcohol to go around."_

_"Sneaky, Dr Fell." Stefan murmured in respect._

_Meredith sat back with a genial smile with a sharp shadow. "Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."_

_"Better get on your game face, Stefan." Tommy muttered aside to Stefan. "Mer is eerily good a this sort of thing, a bit like her vampire sixth-sense. In another life, I think she was a cigar smoking, bourbon drinking sleuth, but in this one... it'll be an invaluable skill to have with her patients that won't be able to tell her the things she needs to know."_

_"Oh?" Stefan said. "Are you taking a specialty for your residency, Meredith?"_

_Meredith nodded. "I'm hoping to practice paediatrics."_

_"A noble and daunting profession."_

_"Of course, seeing a child sick or injured is never an easy thing but if I can send them back home healthier than when they came into my care, it will be worth it."_

_Tommy passed out a round of shots. "Cheers to that." They toasted._

_"Unlike Dr Merlyn here," Meredith nodded her head at Tommy, "I fully intend on practicing medicine back home."_

_"Opportunity calls in Guadalajara, Mexico." Tommy countered. "And it has the added bonus of getting away from Starling for a bit. I've talked with Moira and she agreed once I've settled in, Thea can come and stay with me for the summer—I think it will be good for her, for the both of us." There was a momentary lull before the man perked up and the game began. "Stefan and my mom were the ones that made me want to go into medicine," he said. "You should know, Mer, Stefan here has a few MDs himself."_

_"Those are a little outdated, Tommy." Stefan felt the need to point out, but Meredith's brows rose with intrigue._

_"Isn't that a little... dicey?" Meredith wondered. "I mean, you're a vampire..."_

_"It is a dead dream for me," Stefan agreed with old resignation, "But I do have all this time on my hands and I figure why not spend it learning and experiencing new things I might not have been able to in my human life? And it's not as if I practice," he added._

_"So, where did you study?"_

_Tommy grinned with pride, giving the vampire an enthusiastic shake. "You're looking at a fellow Harvard alumni!"_

_"Really? Is that why you decided to do pre med at Harvard?_

_"It's practically legacy." Tommy shrugged._

_"So, Stefan, was being a doctor something you've always wanted to be or was it just another box to check?"_

_"I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember," Stefan told her. "Though my father wasn't as keen on the idea as I was. He'd already decided that I was going to take over the family business. But it didn't matter in the end, the choice was taken from my hands either way when I transitioned."_

_"Yet, you became a doctor despite him."_

_"Yeah. Give or take a 100 years later."_

_Meredith whistled. "Better late than never, I guess."_

_"That is what they say."_

_"So, you're at least century old." She said._

_Tommy poured her a shot. "Too vague."_

_"Touché." She took the shot. "100 years, huh? So, if I can just figure out what decade you studied, backtrack the 100, then I'll know when you were turned."_

_"Very astute, Dr Fell." Tommy murmured. "And just for that..." he gave Stefan a shot. Stefan raised a pointed brow at it. "Theories are one shot, guesses are two."_

_"Just because I'm a vampire, doesn't mean I can't get drunk. With my diet, I may have more tolerance than a human, but I'm less tolerable than a vampire who drinks human blood." Stefan pointed out, but sighed and threw back the shot._

_"Atta boy!" Tommy clapped him on the shoulder and grinned in the face of the droll stare. "Fun fact," he told Meredith, "Not only is Stefan a doctor, he's been a paramedic not once—but twice!" he held up two fingers in a peace sign for emphasis. "In two different eras." A finger folded down, "Once in a war."_

_"Hm. 100 years. That encompasses many an era and many a war." Meredith concluded. "You're not gonna make this easy on me, are you?"_

_Stefan looked over at Tommy. "You're just a well of information, aren't you?"_

_"Your life was my bedtime stories." He shrugged. "I finally get to brag about you to someone, I'm taking full advantage. Mini game!" Tommy suddenly decided, looking across to Meredith. "How long have Stefan and I know each other, aka how old was I when we met?"_

_"A kid, obviously, if he was telling you bedtime stories," Meredith said. "At least, I'm hoping you were."_

_"Obviously," Tommy rolled his eyes and poured a shot, but didn't move it either way. "Be more specific."_

_"Mm, between ages five and ten." She decided._

_Tommy took the shot, and then proceeded to fill up a line of five shot glasses. "You have five options. Every wrong guess, you take a shot. When you're right, I take the remaining shots."_

_"Six." He pushed the first shot forward. "Nine." Forward. She grimaced. "Eight?"_

_Tommy tossed back the remaining three shots of vodka in succession followed with a shudder. "Woo! I needed that," he cleared his throat. "Remember I told you about my father leaving after my mom was killed?" Meredith nodded. "The two years that he was gone," he gave Stefan a soft smile, "Stefan took care of me."_

_"If you'd just met when you were eight," she questioned them, "How did it end with you looking after him?"_

_"Fate!" Tommy declared, hand shooting into the air, the vodka starting to kick in. "I had an inexplicable need that night to see mom, there was a big thunderstorm and I got turned around in the cemetery—and instead of finding mom's grave, I stumbled upon the middle of a grave robbery!"_

_Meredith blinked at him in surprise, that was the very last thing she expected to hear, the alcohol was finally hitting her bloodstream. "You did?"_

_"And Stefan swooped in, full vamp-mode!" Tommy nodded, "With the face and the fangs and everything!"_

_"You just happened to be there when he needed you?" Meredith gaped lightly at the vampire. She deigned not to ask what happened to the grave robbers, but by the flint in the vampire's forest green eyes she could easily take a guess._

_"I told you it was fate!" Tommy exclaimed._

_"I happened to be there visiting Rebecca's grave." Stefan poured himself a shot. It was bitter-sweet to remember those two years with a buzzed haze over his brain as Tommy retold the past to his friend and new-found cousin with an openness and the dramatics of one who was drunk, but the vampire deigned not to put a lid on it. It had taken 16 years, but Tommy had finally found someone who he could tell his deepest past to, a secret that even he had not told his best friend in life, and Stefan wasn't going to stop the rare moment, the current happiness._

_Not when he could feel it, a shadow over his shoulder, calamity coming on the horizon as he felt the pull to return home 15 years after the last family tragedy._

~ **_T V D_** ~

"Nat," Connor mumbled, because that was the last thing he remembered before going down, his brow scrunched in anticipation of bright overhead ED lights. He mustn't have been out long to wake up still on the floor, but something was off. It was too quiet. The ED was never quiet.

"Try again." A distinctly male voice said. "Less beautiful and more ruggedly handsome."

Connor's eyes snapped open and he jackknifed up at the voice of an unexpected companion. "Severide. What the hell?" he exclaimed, taking in the firefighter and what was decidedly _not_ the ED at Med. He climbed to his feet with the assistance of a maple dinning chair. He stood at a large breakfast table that sat eight, at his back was the warmth of a lit fireplace. The entire left side of the room was a kitchen with beautiful custom cupboards and a breakfast bar and island. Above him, the ceiling was peaked glass, but instead of bright sun shinning in overhead or a star-speckled night sky, it was a blurry sheet of rain. "That's not right. Where is this?" His scratched his fingers through his hair. He remembered the psychic pull, the familiar essence that could only lead to one person, but it had been more violent than Connor had ever experienced it in his childhood.

Kelly observed the doctor for a moment. "You don't recognize it?" he crossed the room towards the entranceway.

"Should I?" Connor asked in a sudden peak of annoyance, turning to the man.

Kelly spread his arms as he spun, his heavy turnout coat falling open. "The Salvatore Boarding House kitchen."

Connor ignored the surge of jealousy that Kelly had been where he hadn't, not even in Stefan's memories, and stared at the man just standing there. "What are you doing? And where's Stefan? That psychic pull was nothing I've ever experienced before."

"Something isn't right," Kelly agreed, his palms feeling along the invisible threshold barrier that shouldn't be present where it was. "There's a barrier."

"You didn't suddenly turn into a vampire, did you?" Connor wondered, but not very seriously as he approached, testing the threshold with no success himself.

Kelly snorted wryly. "That's not really an option for me."

"I wouldn't ever let that happen." Stefan promised. The bloody summer of 2010, indentured to Klaus for his brother's life, they'd only been in Chicago for a week, but his stress and worry over M-- Kelly in the city, unaware, with Klaus on the hunt for werewolves and Katherine lurking in the shadows, nearly made him stupid. The temptation of having the werewolf virtually within arm's-length, to catch a first glimpse after months... It was a guilty relief when Rebekah sussed him out and they headed back to Mystic Falls.

Both men spun around at his voice to find the kitchen table set and crowded with steaming dishes. But what took their attention was the vampire that that was setting it. He glanced at them as he set the platter of shredded chicken down. "I can't just have people wandering around in my psyche, that'd do no body any good, most of all me." Stefan picked a piece of meat off the bird and ate it, palm of his hand pressed flat against the table top, his eyes slipped closed at the flavour that overtook his taste buds. He gave a quiet sigh. "Tastes just like I remember it." It was but a moment of reprieve from the taste of quarry water and the taste of his own blood as he had a tendency to bite through his tongue on the rougher awakenings.

"Severide." Connor said, in surprise and warning at the intense expression on the firefighter's face, started at the sudden stalk toward the unaware vampire.

Stefan opened his eyes just in time to be pulled around, his face grasped, and lips crushed against him.

Connor's step forward to intervene was aborted and he could only stare in surprise. They knew of each other, aware of the other's existence, of the before. Before Connor Rhodes and before Kelly Severide. Stefan had made sure they were all aware of each other in the haven where he put them, but unlike with their relationship with Natalie, they didn’t get on like a house on fire and had a tendency to keep their interactions professional through work. So, to discover _this_ was the nature of the relationship between the pair, was a shock.

It was the first time in such a long time that Stefan felt warmth, that his pain and fear consuming his every cell melted away as it spread through his body. And in a moment of weakness, he melted against the werewolf, opened himself—and his concentration on the upkeep of the illusion around them fractured. In reflection, a fissure crawled across a pane of glass overhead and water started to dribble amongst the food.

"What the hell?" Connor exclaimed, addressing both the cracked skylight and the make-out he just witnessed.

They broke apart and Stefan sank into a chair. Whatever colour his face had gained, drained as he glared up at the crack. The dribble slowed and he shoved a wine glass under the drip. He momentarily slumped against an elbow on the table before sucking in a sharp breath and straightening.

"What just happened?" Kelly questioned.

"That's what I would like to know." Connor crossed his arms and glared at the firefighter.

Kelly's brow cocked and he smirked. "What? Jealous?"

"Don't be disgusting," Connor said.

"Didn't take you for a homophobe, Rhodes."

"Not a homophobe," Connor corrected. "I'm just not into incest."

That caused Kelly momentarily pause. "You're--"

"Stop fighting," Stefan interrupted, "And sit before it gets cold."

"Stefan," Connor said, dropping his arms, "I'm more concerned about that crack than I am about the food." He frowned at the skylight. "What the hell is going on? I've never experienced a psychic pull like that from you before."

"I didn't mean for that to happen," he confessed. "But you're here now, so I just thought we should make the most of it." _Before I lose my wits and any control deserts me,_ Stefan thought but knew better than to voice it out loud. Stefan pursed his lips. He stared forlornly at the delicious meal set out before it vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving behind the wine glass to catch the drip; one less illusion he needed to hold onto.

"Stefan?" Kelly pressed, warm hand squeezing his shoulder.

His eyes glazed as he stared at the glass, the drip sending ripples across the surface of the accumulated water. He shuddered. He could feel it in his bones. He abruptly shoved from the table. He had to get away from the wet. He knelt in front of the fireplace with a sigh of relief; the illusion of warmth was better than the truth. "It's okay, I just got distracted and lost focus."

"Distracted, huh?" Kelly teased.

"Flirting? Really?" Connor scoffed. "How long exactly have you two been making-out for?"

"Five-years," was Kelly's smug response, just as Stefan said: "It's complicated."

Connor raised a brow. Stefan met Kelly's gaze over his shoulder, the fire flickering in his green eyes. "It's been a complicated five-years," he turned back to the fire as the wine glass overflowed, water running over the edge of the table to the floor. With the look on Stefan's face, guilt, longing, resignation, Connor regretted asking.

"Stef," Kelly murmured, kneeling beside the vampire. He squeezed his nape, pulling him against his side. "What's really going on? You've never brought us in together at the same time before, and it certainly never felt like getting hit by a freight train either. You're not looking so hot either."

"I'm sitting by a fire," Stefan protested feebly.

"Yeah, it's not doing much for your complexion."

"Mm." The corner of his mouth quirked. "Holding two outside consciousnesses in your mind isn't done for eases' sake." But it wasn't even necessarily that, but the illusion he was presenting them with as his psyche threatened to fracture like the growing one on the skylight.

"Something's wrong. Obviously." Connor said, sending his own suspicious glare at the skylight. "Why bring us if your not going to tell us?"

"I just lost control and my subconscious went looking for an anchor to ground me." He sighed. "It's been a hectic... what day is it?" he joked but he honestly didn't know. "It's just been Mystic Falls, that's all." He shrugged like that explained it, and to Kelly, at least it did.

"So, some crazy shit." Kelly said.

A blurb of laughter bubbled up with an edge of hysteria. "That sums it up. Yeah." He buried his face in Kelly's neck momentarily. The fire suddenly hissed and spit as a deluge of water came pouring down the chimney, killing the fire.

"What the hell?!" Kelly yanked Stefan back. Unaffected himself in his turnout gear, Stefan hadn't faired so well, his entire front soaked through with cold water.

Stefan shrunk into himself, his awareness shrinking to the burning in his lungs, his breath caught in his throat. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't-- he was jolted out of it when Connor shoved him into a chair, knelt in front of him, fingers curled around his wrist, a look of consternation on his face.

"I can't feel your pulse," he uttered in worry.

"Is that even possible?" Kelly asked. "We're in his psyche."

"I am sitting right here," Stefan pointed out.

"That shouldn't matter." Connor jumped to his feet and Kelly jolted as he suddenly felt fingers pressed to his jugular without permission. "I can feel yours just fine." The doctor turned back to the brunette, but when he went to check his pulse again, the vampire took his hand and squeezed. Connor could feel the fine tremor. "You're shivering." He noted in confusion.

"The water's cold."

" ** _Zio_** ," Connor said despairingly, "I hate to sound like a broken record, and excuse my frustrated language, but... will you please tell us what the fuck is going on?"

A brief tick of amusement lifted the corner of Stefan's mouth.

"Stop being such a stubborn son of a bitch," Kelly added his two cents.

"I already told you--"

"Mystic Falls," Kelly interrupted, arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, we know, but care to elaborate on that a bit more? Mystic Falls is a pretty broad spectrum."

"You know." Stefan shrugged offhandedly. "A two-thousand year-old immortal witch. Doppelgänger drama—can't get enough of that. The kicker," he paused, wondering what saying anything was going to do other than rile them up, "The cure to vampirism. So, you know... Mystic Falls."

"Hold up," Kelly raised a hand, "Did you just say _the cure to vampirism?_ As in **you can become human again**?"

Stefan cleared his throat. "It's a little more complicated than that." He paused. "There's only one dose."

"So?" Kelly demanded in frustration.

"So," Connor filled in slowly, "He never intended to use it for himself."

Stefan opened his mouth to correct him, but Kelly interrupted with a sneer. " _Elena_. Of course." He paced away angrily, rolling his shoulders. "You'd do anything for her but nothing for yourself. Five years and nothing's changed. I should have snapped your neck and took you with me instead of letting you continue on being the martyr prick that you are."

Stefan grimaced, the glass panels overhead spider webbing as he stood and his gaze followed the agitated werewolf. He absently rubbed at his chest. He was fighting waking to his reality, but knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer with all the heightened emotions.

"Stef?" Connor squeezed his shoulder. He caught the absent gesture and he had a sense of déjà vu watching Natalie. "You okay?"

Stefan gave him a distracted nod, but his gaze was trained on the firefighter. "I was going to take it," he corrected softly.

Kelly stilled and slowly turned back toward him. "What?"

"The search for the cure... yeah, in the beginning, it was for Elena. Her transition was under extenuating circumstance and--" he started but then shook his head, "It doesn't matter. I had it. I was going to take it. I had the cure with me, I packed my bags, I said goodbye... I was going to leave Mystic Falls behind and I was going to come to Chicago."

There's a moment of stillness, quiet, before Kelly said, "You keep saying 'was'."

Stefan gave him a forlorn smile. "Sometimes I wish you'd broken my neck and taken me with you, too."

Kelly took an aborted step forward. "Stefan," there was a strain to his voice, the tendons in his neck taut. "Are you--" he chocked on the words.

Connor swallowed against the sudden bile. " _Dying_?" he croaked, fingers digging into the vampire's shoulder. "That's why I couldn't feel your pulse, isn't it?"

The skylight shattered, a rain of dark water and shards of glass like a continuous waterfall cascaded over the breakfast table, flooding the kitchen floor. It was answer enough.

"No more bullshit!" Kelly growled, furious. "Let's us out of here, Stefan, and we're coming to that harpy of a small town and getting you out of there once and for all!"

" **No**!" Stefan shouted instantly and the windows all shattered under the pressure, adding to the deluge of freezing water flooding his psyche-made-kitchen. He grasped them by the their naps and pulled both men close to him, feeling their tension vividly. "No." He repeated firmly, his forest green eyes blazing as he looked between the two. "Listen to me. You are never to set foot in Mystic Falls, either of the three of you. I mean it, Mason." He told the angry werewolf.

"You called me Mason."

Stefan grimaced. "Sorry, I--"

Kelly shook his head. "I miss it."

Stefan shook his head this time. "Mason is dead, Kelly, and you were born in his wake, _free_ of Mystic Falls. There's nothing left for you. You can never come back here, not for any reason, and certainly not for me. I'm fine. I will always be fine."

"Stefan," Connor protested, unable to stay silent at the expression on Kelly's face.

Stefan's fingers kept a steady pressure on Kelly's nape even as he turned his attention to Connor, his eyes turning doting. "You can never know how truly proud I am of you. Having you for those two years all to myself was my greatest blessing, Tommy. You are the son that I always dreamed for but was denied. You have always had a fate better than Mystic Falls." Stefan didn't care if he spent eternity drowning in the quarry, desiccated and trapped in his own mind, there was a reason why he made Mason Lockwood and Meredith Fell disappear, there was a reason why Tommy Merlyn could never step foot into Mystic Falls. He would not let this town claim them as it had him the moment he took his first breath of its air.

"Shut up." Connor told him, furious. "You don't get to say goodbye!"

"I'm not saying goodbye," Stefan promised quietly. "I told you as long as you need me, I would never leave you and I would always keep you safe. That means you are never to set foot in Mystic Falls—Promise me, Connor."

It was a struggle to utter the words, ones he knew he would break without hesitation if it meant saving Stefan from whatever this was. Connor's eyes involuntarily slipped closed as Stefan pressed a kiss to the man's brow, thinking of the child he tucked into bed every night with the same treatment. Warmth spread and the chill faded as the vampire released him.

Stefan turned his freed attention to remaining occupant in his mind. "There are four living Salvatores left, Kelly, a 3rd of them are safe hidden away in Chicago. Promise me. Promise me you won't let Mystic Falls have them."

"You're the only Salvatore I care about. You're the one in danger!"

"I'm not the one that needs saving!" Stefan snarled in frustration.

"If you think I can so easily dissuaded you're clearly an idiot." Kelly growled back.

Instead of responding verbally, Stefan yanked the firefighter in, crashing their lips together. It was only angry and desperate for a moment before it melted and softened, and then it was want and aching and care—and promise. Eyes closed, Stefan pressed their foreheads together as they breathed each other's breath, until there was nothing and Stefan was alone again, in the dark, cold water.

But something was different, something had changed.

There was light.

There was a beeping heartbeat.

~ **_T V D_** ~

_"That's enough!" Stefan grabbed his brother's shoulder and yanked him back._

_Damon momentarily stumbled before he regained his feet and shook off his brother's hold. "Don't tell me you're having regrets now—it's a little late for that, little brother." And he let his hand fall open, the muscular organ rolling from his fingers to thump wetly onto the plastic sheet underfoot._

_The brunette couldn't stop the minute flinch at the sound. "It didn't have to go this way." He couldn't shake the image of the werewolf's form, hollow-chested and chained to the throne. "You didn't--"_

_Damon's blue eyes flared and he grabbed Stefan by the throat under his chin, bloody fingers and all. "I did what I always do, what you can never bring yourself to do—what **needed** to be done. That dog wasn't your friend, he was **her** lapdog—he was **our** enemy. How many more times did he need to try and kill us for that point to be driven home, hm, Stefan?" Stefan deigned not to point out that he only ever got caught in the crossfire between the two, that he was never the designated target. "Hell, killing him was a mercy, the idiot was in love with that bitch, I just saved him from a lot of pain in the long run. You should be more impressed with my humanitarian aid." Damon released him, only to wipe his hand clean on the brunette's T-shirt. "Seeing as I did all the dirty work, you get to clean up." Stefan's gaze followed the other vampire as he went over to the sideboard and poured himself a tumbler from the bourbon decanter. "Grab me his phone, will you? Wouldn't want our Interim Mayor getting suspicious."_

_Stefan held out the cell phone to his brother. Damon's eyes involuntarily fluttered as he took it, before he gave his head a little shake and cleared his throat. " **Dear Carol, great opportunity in Florida. Will send for my things when settled. Love Mason.** And Send. Hm," he paused before crushing the phone and tossing it into the fire, "Caller history, most recent number dialled. 'Kathy'. Who could you possibly be?" he wondered out loud in rhetoric sarcasm and an eye roll as he selected the number and put it to his ear, sipping from a tumbler of bourbon._

_Stefan gave a half-hearted protest. "Damon, what are you--!"_

_"Uh-uh, Stefan. Don't be rude, I'm on the phone."_

_" **You're late,** " Katherine answered. " **I've been waiting all alone.** "_

_"Wrong boy toy," Damon said. "And I'm afraid you're going to be waiting for awhile."_

_" **Where's Mason**?" she growled. " **Put him on."**_

_"Hang on. Ah, that might being a little difficult. See, he's on one side of the room and his heart appears to be on the other side of it..." He smirked as Katherine hissed through the connection. "Bit of bad luck, that."_

_Stefan tuned the rest of it out. He didn't need to hear Katherine's response, his brother's falling expression said it all. This wasn't a blow dealt to Katherine, it just served to piss her off, and the vampire wasn't one to get sloppy when angry, she just got all the more devious and vicious._

_Teeth gritted, Damon crushed the slide phone in his hand and tossed it into the flames. He swallowed the rest of his bourbon and didn't even deign to cast a backward glance as he left the room. "Get rid of the body before it starts to stink up the place. And I better not find a drop of blood on my rug when I get back!"_

_Stefan stayed his place until he heard the rumble of Damon's Camaro fade down the drive and the release of his psyche. Eyes closed, he released a slow breath, unconsciously rubbing at his throat at the feeling of blood on his skin that didn't exist. Finally, he turned back to the scene of the crime; the throne chair and the broken chains puddled around it._

_The werewolf's face peered through the hole from behind the chair's back with a low whistle, "That could have gotten messy," before straightening, arms folded across the top, placing the hole at the center of his chest. "He was right about one thing," Mason stared across the room at Stefan, his Russian blue gaze penetrating, "My heart is across the room."_

**MED|** CHICAGO **|FIRE**

Despite wishing to keep watch over the pair, Natalie was still a doctor and there were other patients that needed more urgent attention. Both men had been stripped and efficiently gowned by the nurses, hooked up to cardiac and neuro monitors and were resting comfortably.

There was nothing else to do but wait.

As she fully expected, their workup came back completely normal, no anomalies to point toward the cause of their sudden collapses. Kelly's temperature was slightly elevated, but Natalie knew that was because of his magic werewolf gene, and Connor could cut down on his sodium intake a bit, but otherwise, they were both peak male specimens. Natalie expected normal because she knew better, this was supernatural, this was magic—this was Stefan's exceptional psychic powers and dread filled the pit in her stomach.

There was a lull in the ED, so she found a chair, pulled the curtain closed and settled between the comatose pair. Periodically, she would reach out and lay her hand on Connor's bare arm, close her eyes, concentrate to see if she could get another psychic flash like the one she'd experience when he first collapsed. She got nothing for her efforts, but that one vision had been enough to make her wary.

She didn’t even notice at first when they returned to consciousness, by all accounts at the same time they both went down. There was no jolt or jerk or cry.

"Nat," Connor croaked, turning his hand in hers and grasping it. "Stefan's in trouble."

Natalie jumped to her feet and instantly starting checking her distant cousin over. "How? Are you okay? Kelly?" she shot over her shoulder.

"Fine," Kelly answered, heaving himself upward. "Mystic Falls Trouble." He started pulling off leads.

"Stop that or the nurses are going to think you--" the room curtain burst open and several nurses rushed into the room, "Flat lined." She shot Kelly a glare. "He's fine." Natalie hurriedly assured. "Just touching things he knows better than to touch."

When they finally had a moment alone and Natalie was assured that they were okay, at least physically, she said, "This is not the place. Eht," she pinned the hot-headed werewolf with a stern look, "And no one is storming off half-cocked."

With some finagling, Natalie managed to get both men discharged with a diagnosis of extreme exhaustion, each getting a requisite week off work from their respective bosses. The end of her shift coincided with their discharge, so they piled into her car and the two filled her in what had happened on their end as she drove to her house.

Natalie checked in on Owen, poured herself a stiff drink, sat heavily on her sofa and dialled the number she hadn't called in nearly two years, having cut off ties from Mystic Falls for the safety of her son.

Kelly paced around her living room like a caged werewolf. He was unbridled enough that Natalie had seen his eyes flash amber more than once in response to something she'd said to Elena on the other line.

Not long into her call, Connor hadn't been able to handle the tension and one-sided conversation, so it had almost been a relief when Owen started to fuss through the baby monitor and he'd disappeared upstairs to settle who he considered his nephew. Natalie was a like a sister to him, even without their shared Salvatore blood and he'd always been referred to 'uncle' in regards to Owen. Natalie had even given him the middle name of Thomas alongside his father's Alaric.

"Take care." Natalie's voice was thick for the lump that had formed in her throat by the first sentence spoken. "Bye, Elena." She tossed her cell on the coffee table and refilled her glass, tossing it back.

That was all Kelly needed to see to get fired up all over again. He ignored the potent scent of grief coming off the woman. "Why the fuck are we just sitting here while bad shit is obviously happening to Stefan?" He gritted his teeth. "Who cares if I'm supposed to be dead? Katherine Pierce can shove it!"

"Stefan's dead." Natalie uttered the fatal words.

Kelly chest seized, just for an instant in anguish before he shook it off and made the most contemptuous sound of his life. "Is that what messiah Elena Gilbert has been telling you this entire time?"

Natalie looked up at him, heartache in her brown eyes. "Kelly..."

"What's happening?" Connor questioned as he slowly stepped off the stairs and joined them in the open living room. He took in the unshed tears in Natalie's eyes, the fury in Kelly's that had his eyes flashing amber and swallowed. "Did you find out about Stefan?"

"Connor," Natalie started, her voice hoarse.

Kelly interrupted with a scoff. "According to the all-knowing Elena, Stefan's dead."

"What?" Connor flinched as if the words were a physically blow, before his jaw squared and he scowled in denial. "No." His fingers clenched, blunt nails digging into his palms. "Stefan isn't dead. He can't be dead."

"Connor," Natalie rose, reaching out a comforting hand.

Connor warded her off. "No, Natalie!" he snarled. "Stefan isn't dead. You don't get it—I would know. I would know," he repeated. "Besides, me and Kelly just talked to him." He shared a nod of defiance with the werewolf.

Natalie bit her lip. "That's when Elena said it happened—a few hours ago."

Connor's knees gave out and he sat abruptly in the arm chair behind him, shaking. He scowled. "Clearly Elena Gilbert if a fucking idiot. Look around, Natalie," he threw an arm out in an encompassing gesture, "Stefan knows exactly how to make people disappear."

Natalie gaped at him. "Are you suggesting that Stefan faked his death?"

Kelly gave a sudden bark of laughter, a wolfish grin on his face, his Russian-blue eyes dancing. "He's clever that way."

"Think about it, Nat," Connor said passionately as he rose on steady legs, "We know he had the cure, we know he was determined to come to Chicago, to us—but yet again Mystic Falls interfered, dragged him back in so he had to get a little drastic in strategy."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Kelly nodded in agreement with the CT Surgeon. Still grinning, he clapped Connor roughly on the shoulder.

"Guys," Natalie said, inhaling deeply. "And what about the things you don't know? Like the fact that Stefan was a doppelgänger to the two-thousand year old immortal witch they were fighting for the cure with, and that this witch Silas imprisoned him in a safe and threw him in the quarry." Both men paled. "That Silas impersonated him for three months as he drowned over and over again," her voice broke, "Until another witch, the one that created the immortality spell and the cure came back from the dead and freed him. What you don't know is that Stefan made some deal with this witch Tessa that if he killed Silas, then she would, well, nobody else knew any of the details to that question. What they do know, is that Tessa reneged their deal and killed Stefan before she killed herself." Silent tears wet her cheeks. She choked as she held out her phone to her cousin, "I didn't believe it, I couldn't, so I made Elena send me a picture."

"What?" Connor looked down at the phone in his trembling hand in confusion—and then he saw the picture of Stefan's corpse.

He was grey. Desiccated. Lips slightly parted, no soul left in his forest green eyes. There was a gruesome scorch mark through the chest of his shirt and into his flesh. It was a wound that made even the trauma surgeon in him shudder, but his hand stopped shaking.

"What?" Kelly demanded and snatched the phone from the still man. When he looked at the picture on the screen, the world dropped out from beneath him. "Stefan." The noise he made was inhuman.

Connor shook his head. "He's not dead, Kelly." He grasped the firefighter's shoulder, squeezing, " _Look_ at him, Kelly." He didn't say it to be cruel. "You don't see it? That's not Stefan!"

"Connor."

Connor ignored Natalie. He managed to pry the phone from Kelly's white-knuckled grip and slam it screen down on the coffee table, before he pushed the werewolf down into the armchair. It said a lot about Kelly's state of mind that he allowed the manhandling, especially by Connor of all people. Connor poured drinks and pushed a tumbler into Kelly's hand, downing his own.

Natalie watched him for a moment. "Even if what you say is true, Connor," she said, still reluctant to believe, "It doesn’t matter because he won't be coming here."

Connor looked at her in surprise and then confusion. "Why not?"

"Because he had amnesia. Tessa took away all his memories when she connected him to Silas with a spell."

"That's not right," Kelly said, standing abruptly.

"You should look at it as a blessing in disguise," Natalie said quietly, trying to comfort. "Even Stefan would be affected by the trauma of drowning--"

"No." He scowled. "I meant the amnesia. How could he have amnesia if he called us, remembered us?" That gave Natalie pause.

"He's right," Connor agreed. "Stefan remembered us, and you, and how he ended up..." he trailed off, eyes conflicted and confused.

"What is it?" Natalie asked.

Connor licked his lips and looked up at them, but his focus was more on Kelly. "When we were pulled to his psyche, Stefan kept saying that he hadn't meant to bring us, that he lost focus and his subconscious reached out to us looking for an anchor. And the way that water kept invading his psyche, how he was reacting to it. He meant it as a joke but I don't think he really knew what day it was."

Kelly's eyes widened in confused realization, "Like he was still in that safe, drowning in the quarry."

"But that's not possible," Natalie protested. "That would be tantamount to... time travel." She didn't think even Connor would go for that.

Connor closed his eyes and remembered his near-death experience. "Or an echo." He whispered, opening his eyes to find the two looking at him, one with worry, the other in confusion. He swallowed. "When I died," he shook his head, his hand unconsciously going to his chest as he remembered the rebar, "When I almost died, when Stefan saved me from the brink of death, I-- it was like an echo of my entire life. Maybe, when Tessa 'killed' Stefan, he got an echo of his last memories before Tessa erased him, and the trauma sent his psyche into a PTSD episode that had him reaching for us instinctively."

Kelly finished off his drink. "Do you know how insane that sounds?" he huffed with a shake of his head. "It would sound a hell of a lot more insane if I weren't a werewolf." Connor chuckled.

Natalie looked between them in a moment of disbelief. "I think I might be going insane if you two are not only in agreement, but also getting along."

Kelly rolled his eyes at his friend. "So, how are we supposed to find Stefan? Damon and Elena can obviously never find out. And none of us know any witches outside of Bonnie Bennett."

"We don't." Connor said to their surprise. "Stefan will find us," he smirked. "He always does."

~ **_T V D_** ~

_Stefan knew he should be more worried about Katherine's retaliation to Damon killing Mason, but at the moment he was more focused on getting Mason out of town and making him disappear in the time frame it would normally take him to make a corpse disappear and not draw suspicion to the fact that while Damon's call with Katherine had been very real, Stefan had in fact implanted the memory of Mason's death at his brother's hand._

_Right now was the calm before the storm and Stefan was going to take advantage._

_"That's the last of it," Stefan reported with a sigh, closing the Bronco's tailgate. "Don't worry about the truck, I'll get rid of it."_

_"Do I get a proper good-bye?" Mason wondered, straightening from where he was leaned against the trunk edge of the beautiful vintage black Camaro that the vampire had simply gave him for the new life he was to start in replacement of his lost Bronco. He was more than ready to leave Mystic Falls behind, but not **this.**_

_"Sure. I'll just give you two a moment." He heard Mason's stride across the floor of pine needles, but let his body be yanked around and pushed back against the side of the truck, pressed there with the muscled wall of the werewolf's body._

_"Don't try and be smart about this now, Stefan." Mason growled, blue-grey eyes searching green. "Are we ever going to see each other again?"_

_Stefan was stoic as he stared back. "Not if I can help it."_

_It was exactly the answer Mason was expecting, not the one he was hoping for and he was angered regardless. "You're just going to let this place swallow you. Why? What's keeping you here? Your brother? **Elena?** " he couldn't stop the scowl. "There's only ever going to be pain for you here, Stefan. You're already out. Take one more step, come with me and never look back." But Mason already knew the answer to that too, before the vampire opened his mouth, before he saw the look in his eyes, so instead of letting Stefan voice the answer he already knew, Mason kissed him instead._

_Stefan stiffened for an instant and that was how long his resolve lasted to have them part as painlessly as possible. He sagged, pinioned by Mason's grasp on his head and the truck behind him. It was searing and beautiful and painful and Stefan pulled the werewolf closer as he kissed back desperately. Finally, they parted slightly, panting breaths, heated eyes locked—and then it was a mad scramble, yanking and pulling at each other's clothes. Jeans pooled around ankles, stoppered by laced boots. Shirts discarded in the dirt and stuck around the neck and a sleeve. Spit-slicked fingers and Stefan's breath fogging up the window glass as Mason pushed into him. The wildlife was put to silence as the small clearing was filled with a vampire's moans, a werewolf's grunts, and a Bronco's rocking suspension._

_Mason pressed against him hard, jerking to completion inside him as Stefan's release spattered the tailgate. He panted, forehead resting between the vampire's shoulder blades, feeling his magically beating heart pumping through. Stefan's arm reached back, fingers pushed into the werewolf's sweaty curls. They scrunched briefly before his hand dropped away and Mason forced himself to pull away from the brunette, lips brushing pale skin. The two men dressed in the proceeding silence as the wilderness found its voice again._

_Stefan felt Mason's watchful gaze as he sat heavily on the Bronco's back bumper and his bark of laughter was shrouded in bitterness. "This doesn't change anything."_

_Mason didn't flinch at the sound, his Russian blue gaze steady. "Yes, it does."_

_Stefan looked across at him, his expression a stoic mask. "Goodbye, Mason."_

_Mason didn't return the sentiment as he went to the vintage Camaro. Its engine purred to life around him and he watched Stefan sitting forlornly on the back of his old Bronco disappear amongst the woods in the rearview mirror._

~ **_T V D_** ~

He awoke slowly. Each of his senses coming online, heightening exponentially before settling evenly. The rhythmic beeping, the stinging in his nostrils. He recognized this place instantly even if he couldn't quite recall how he got here. Heat and pain. The wet warmth that drew across his face and cooled in the dry air made him shudder, and caused the nurse giving him a sponge bath to gasp in surprise as he pulled his eyelids back to reveal forest green irises.

"Look who's finally awake." She smiled. There was a soft, tingling on his lips like a phantom touch. He attempted to trace the feeling with his tongue, to taste it to no avail. "Don't try and talk, sweetie." The nurse murmured. "That'll be the breathing tube. I'll be right back with Dr Sanchez."

No wonder his jaw ached. Left to his own devices, his hand dragged up his gown clad chest and felt along his throat and jaw until he found the offending equipment. His brain was a muddle of memories, but his fingers were sure as he picked away the tape. He detached the respirator attached and dragging at the tube, and then proceeded to remove it, coughing to open his airway. He gagged as he was freed, a string of saliva accompanying the extracted tube.

He coughed as the nurse returned with Dr Sanchez, who exclaimed at seeing him. "Jesus, Avery, you should have waited!"

"I know what I'm doing." He wiped at his chin. He grunted as he tried to pull himself up, only to be barred by Sanchez and offered a cup of water by the nurse. He drank it with relief, his throat tender as he swallowed. "What happened?" he scowled as Sanchez shone a light in his eyes.

"You were struck by lightening."

He let out a bark of rasping laughter. "I was what?"

"People said it came out of nowhere, there wasn't a cloud in the sky." Sanchez continued his exam. "Thankfully you'd just dropped a patient in the ER and were in the ambo pit. The force threw you back into the side of the ambulance. You cracked your skull and fractured some vertebra, went into cardiac arrest. Even though you were right outside the hospital, I'd still call it a miracle that we were able to keep you in the land of the lively."

"Getting struck by lightning doesn't feel too bad," he commented. "My chest just feels sore."

"You're all but healed up—a three month coma ought to do that."

That caused him a moment pause. "Well, that's my vacation, then. When can I get out of here?"

Sanchez chuckled with a shake of the head. "Don't worry, after some physical therapy, you should be back to your job and your Maverick ways in no time, Tom."

Tom grinned. "My life, baby. You know me so well, Sanchez. I've been taking a break for three months, it's time to get back to work."

And he did.

He worked through all his physiotherapy, did all the requirements to be recertified as a trauma paramedic after being in a coma for three months, but his life felt empty. He no longer felt a connection to Atlanta, to Atlanta Metropolitan Hospital, to his empty apartment. There was nothing there for him, there was no one. So he handed in his notice and went looking, feeling some inexplicable pull to Mercy West in Chicago.

~ **_T V D_** ~

_"You left Meredith alone with him?" Stefan demanded of his ex, fingers fisting the hit list in his hand, incredulous at how she could still be so naive even after everything that had happened. From Frederick to Katherine to Klaus._

_"She said it was okay!" Elena protested, taken aback by his sudden anger when he was the one that came to her. "I needed to get his wedding ring to anchor him for Bonnie's spell."_

_"The wedding ring to the wife who left him to become a vampire is going to be to the anchor to his humanity." Stefan said aloud slowly, trying to see if it sounded less insane out there in the world, but it didn't. Before Elena could say anything further, he sped from Alaric's apartment._

_All Stefan could think about was the Darkness in the vampire hunter knowing about Meredith using vampire blood without consent. If he somehow discovered that she had Salvatore blood in her... it was two black marks against her. The Salvatores were prime targets, they were harbourers of vampires, betraying the very foundation of the Founding Families Council. As one of those black marks against the Salvatore name, Stefan was not even remotely comfortable leaving her alone with the teacher._

_Honestly, a surprise to everyone, Stefan was all for bringing the hammer down on this situation, locking up Alaric in the cellar until they could get a handle on this Darkness thing. He'd sold his soul for his brother's life and Elena's safety, but they were the ones that seemed to have lost their sense._

_He wasn't subtle about his entry to the Gilbert Home, but stilled instantly in the small foyer—it was too quiet. There was creak of floorboards on the second floor. Stefan's gaze reached up the staircase to the shadowed figure at the top of the landing. The scent of blood invaded his senses even before the teacher started his descent, wrapping his injured hand. Stefan wasn't going to be fooled so he didn't even bother to let Alaric try. He blurred up the stairs before Ric could react and wasn't gentle as he slammed the teacher's head against the wall, letting him tumble unconscious down the rest of the steps._

_The scent of blood distracting, he closed his eyes and focused his psychic powers, searched for the linking imprint he'd left on Meredith's psyche. It may not be as strong as his connection with Tommy or Mason, but it was there, a string of life through the ether only visible to himself.._

_The main bathroom door splintered under the force of his boot, but he was momentarily stalled in the doorway. The sealed room had acted as a vacuum, not a particle of air left unsaturated in blood._

_"Meredith." It was like sludging through quicksand, sinking lower and lower the closer he got to her._

_She was slumped against the sink cabinets, toiletry items scattered amongst blood streaks, her chin to her chest, hands nerveless at her sides. There was a butcher knife protruding from her abdomen, a face towel soaked red hastily tied around it to stabilize the penetrating object. She had tried to apply pressure but had passed out from a mixture of blood loss and pain._

_"Mer, hey." He called as he tilted her chin up, fingers automatically pressing to her carotid for a pulse to put physicality to the faint beating in his enhanced hearing. There was something else there, fluttering at the back of his conscious but there wasn't time to try and discern it._

_She needed blood—now._

_"Stay with me, Mer. Come on." He shifted her from the sink cabinet to lay supine on the floor. But it wasn't until he unwrapped the knife and pulled it out that she made a reaction, crying out in pain no matter how careful he was. Fresh blood pulsed from the stab wound now that the cork had been removed. Stefan's bit into his wrist with fangs, and hand supporting the back of her head, put his wrist to her already bloodied mouth. "Drink, Meredith!" he growled, fingers pressing into her nape, his thumb massaging her throat to encourage her to swallow. He gasped in relief as he got convulsive swallows._

_Even as he took his healed wrist away, he kept a finger on her pulse to be sure her heart rate evened and strengthened out of the shock, his gaze trained on the healing stab wound as he cleaned the blood away. When her skin came away unblemished, he pulled her shirt back down. That fluttering was there again, but before he could put any focus on it, Meredith started to come around._

_"Hey," he murmured softly, stroking her cheek gently. "You're safe. You're okay."_

_Meredith grimaced, her lashes fluttering to crack open to see Stefan above her. She swallowed convulsively, licking her lips unsure if the blood she was tasting was his, hers, or both, but in the end it didn't really matter._

_"This isn't what it looks like." She said, struggling to sit up._

_Stefan knew better than to try and make her stay down. "Uh-huh. And next you're going to tell me Ric didn't go Dark and stab you."_

_"Never mind," she uttered. She lifted her shirt and examined her abdomen, steady fingers touching unmarred, but sensitive skin. "Good as new, though." She looked up at Stefan, wary, "Can the same be said for Alaric?"_

_"Hm." Stefan's eyes flickered as he focused on the third heartbeat. "Still at the bottom of the stairs where I left him. Alive," he added when he saw her expression._

_"Where's Elena?"_

_"On her way as we speak."_

_He helped her to her feet and she washed up in the sink as Stefan automatically started to clean around her._

_"God, I messed up, Stefan." Meredith finally said after splashing water on her face and rinsing out her mouth. She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear, watching him through the reflection of the mirror. "I was complacent and let him trick me--"_

_"No," Stefan corrected. "I was." He thought when Meredith returned home if he just kept his distance, kept them strangers, it would keep her safe but she was a Salvatore and Mystic Falls had a cruelty for Salvatores. It was inevitable that Meredith would run into one of the others. Her type just had to be history-teacher-by-day-vampire-hunter-by-night._

_"Oh, my God! Ric?" Elena shouted after cautiously edging through the open front door._

_The doctor shot the vampire a look as she hurried from the bathroom. "Jesus, Stefan!" Meredith exclaimed when she saw Alaric twisted at the bottom of the stairs. She rushed down and quickly found his pulse, sighing in relief when she found it strong and steady. "Did you have to be so brutish? It wasn't his fault. This isn't him, it's that damn ring."_

_**Wrong** , Stefan knew, but didn't say. This was very much the teacher, it was just a dark hidden part of him, just like the Ripper was a verse of Stefan._

**MED|** CHICAGO **|FIRE**

To a bystander looking on, it would appear to be utter, catastrophic chaos, but to Connor's trained eye, he could see through the wails of pain, the back and forth shouts, the frantic movements, the still bodies, the grey smoke billowing upwards, the wall of heat that he could feel even there at the triage site; he could see the method to all the madness, like a ballet as three different companies worked around and with each other.

Natalie was somewhere on the other side of the triage with the same job as him, determine who was most critical and shuttle them off in the ambulances from several different hospitals that had been called through the mass casualty protocol by Chief Boden. It was Kelly's job as Lieutenant of Squad 3 to be in the powder keg, to bring them the wounded, the dead and run back into the fire.

They had all been here before, they weren't new to this kind of crises, but that didn't mean it wasn't affecting all the same. Connor just wiped the sting of smoke and sweat from his eyes on the shoulder of his scrubs and moved to the next patient.

The firefighters were beating the fire back, the incoming patients were coming fewer and fewer. Connor straightened, adjusting his stethoscope around his neck as his gaze swept through triage at the momentary respite and picked up the argument between two paramedics over a patient on the gurney between them. He recognised the redhead, though he couldn't place his name, but the other man, a brunette, with his back to him bent over the patient was a mystery to him.

"She's gone, Avery. There's nothing more to do."

"Her lung's collapsed and there's fluid build-up in her chest, just because _you_ can't find her pulse doesn't mean it's not there. I'm in the business of saving lives not standing by as a perfectly bright light fades, so, if you're not going to help, back off and let me work!" Connor knew he should intervene, assist, but he couldn't seem to command his feet to move as he registered the man's voice, the voice he knew since he was eight years old. "Come on, I know you're in there, sweetie. Yes, there! Let's go, Rob!"

They quickly got the gurney loaded into the back of the ambulance and Connor got first glance of his _zio_ eight months since the picture of Natalie's phone before the redhead slammed the doors shut and hopped in the front. Connor's gaze frantically searched for the ambo number, 162, and breathed for the first time in eight months. "Stefan." He couldn't wait to tell Natalie and Kelly, but first, back to the business of saving lives.

...

"This better be good, Rhodes." Kelly complained, entering without knocking and collapsing onto the couch beside Natalie, too exhausted to bother with his jacket or boots. Natalie was of a similar state, it was after 2 a.m. after all, but she at least had the wherewithal to take hers off in her own home. Connor was the opposite; he was fidgety in his seat, manic as he waited impatiently for the firefighter to arrive.

Now, he leapt to his feet and without preamble, he said: "I found Stefan!" Connor panted like it was a weight off his chest, and in a way, it was. He'd been holding it in for the entire day. "He's a paramedic, here, in Chicago. He was working the incident site today. I only managed to glimpse him for a moment before he drove off with a patient, but I got the ambo number. He works at Mercy West, can you believe it?"

That sent a bolt of adrenaline through the exhausted werewolf like he'd just been zapped with electricity, sending him buzzing. Kelly was on his feet across from the CT surgeon, but wasn't sure what to do now that he was there, his mind racing with the rushed information, circling.

The last ounce of Natalie's energy and brainpower had been used to check on Owen when she'd gotten home, all that was left of her was fumes and muscle memory as she stared at Connor, blinking. Finally, she cleared her throat and attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes. "How could you know that's it's Stefan and not one of his doppelgängers?"

Connor fought not to roll his eyes; he knew Natalie was trying to give herself a blanket of security to fall on with impassive reasoning should Stefan's death be true, and he couldn't blame her for that. "It's Stefan, Nat."

"Even if it is," she pressed. "He has amnesia, Connor, otherwise he would have come to us."

"Either way, we'll find out tomorrow—well, today." Connor corrected and crossed his arms, chin risen defensively. "I'm going to go over to Mercy West and see if I can track him down. I already have a name—Avery. Not sure if it's a first name or a last name, but it's enough."

"I'm coming with you." Kelly said, and it wasn't a request. "I'm off shift anyway and I have to see for myself."

Connor nodded and they looked to Natalie.

"It's not like anything I do will stop either of you from going." She let out an explosive breath, "It's late, early, whatever. You guys should just crash here and maybe we can actually talk about it when our brains aren't fried. Flip a coin to see who gets the couch and who gets the guest bed."

...

Fresh pot of coffee, full stomachs, and Owen did nothing to help Natalie persuade Connor and Kelly from confronting this man they perceived to be Stefan. Either way, she thought, they were confronting a stranger. This man may look like Stefan, but whether he was or was his doppelgänger like she had suggested, he really would be a stranger with no memory of either one. Natalie did want Stefan to be alive and alright, but she also didn't want Connor and Kelly to be hurt and disappointed by what they might find at Mercy West.

...

Whatever adrenaline rush the pair had when asking the register about a paramedic named Avery, was crashing now that they had been informed that he was out on a call, and they had to wait. Connor grabbed them coffee and they set to wait outside the ER ambulance bay unobtrusively.

"You think True Love's Kiss is a thing?" Kelly suddenly said out of the blue.

"Huh?" Connor blinked over at him.

"Like Snow White," Kelly said. "Stefan has amnesia due to magic, Snow White was put under a sleeping spell."

"Are you actually wondering if you kiss Stefan, will his memory return?" Connor was incredulous.

Kelly shrugged. "It was just a suggestion."

"Despite the fact that vampires, werewolves and witches exist, this is real life, not a fairy tale story. How would you react if some strange guy just walked up to you and started kissing you?"

Kelly snorted. "Depends. If he looked like Stefan..."

Connor made a childish face at him as he drank the last remains of his takeout coffee. "Do you know how weird it is that you make out with my uncle?"

" _More_ than make out." Kelly smirked.

Connor held no qualms about socking him in the shoulder, other than his surgeon knuckles smarting for the hard-packed werewolf muscle, not that he would say anything out loud. Kelly just laughed at him as he got up to throw his cup in the trash, and grabbed the firefighter's too, even though he wasn't finished with it.

Sirens finally sounded as an ambulance pulled up to the entrance and Connor stiffened in anticipation as his gaze caught sight on the number 162 on the side. There was a flurry of activity as the driver hopped out and went around to the back, pulling out the patient gurney, followed by his partner.

Kelly sucked in a sharp breath like he'd been punched through the chest, unable to move from the bench, his gaze glued to the brunette paramedic rushing alongside the gurney through the emergency doors, working the manual oxygen bag. Connor was of a similar state, frozen to the spot by the trash can long after they disappeared inside. Kelly wasn't really sure what he believed when he demanded to accompany Connor to Mercy West; scared to hope, scared to lose that same hope. He hadn't been able to get the image of Stefan from Natalie's phone out of his head these last few months, didn't want to believe it was true and threw all his weight behind Connor. He was just glad the wait was finally over.

"Okay. Fuck." Kelly muttered and locked eyes with Connor, whose held the same scared excitement. "How do we do this?"

Connor gave a helpless shrug. "I think this was what Nat meant about going in half-cocked."

All they could do was wait. Kelly paced, sitting still making him feel twitchy, but came to an abrupt stop as 'Stefan' returned with a stripped gurney, a clipboard jumping around on it. He glanced up and gave the pair a brief, polite smile as he passed back to his ambo, loading the gurney in the back and grabbing the clipboard to start inventory.

"Fuck this," Kelly uttered in decision, deciding to just go for it. What was the worst that could happen?

"Kelly!" Connor cursed through gritted teeth, knowing exactly what the firefighter was about to do as he stalked toward the unaware paramedic, and couldn’t help the petty thought of hoping the brunette punched the werewolf in the face.

Kelly grasped his shoulder and spun the startled man, palmed the nape of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

The paramedic's 'mmph!' of surprise quickly morphed into a small moan under the devouring kiss as his metal clipboard and pen clattered to the pavement at their feet. His body instantly and instinctively melted against the man. Tom got lost in the overwhelming sensation of home and safety and excitement. Ever since waking up from his freak accident, all he'd felt was empty and alone, missing. He felt none of those now and he grasped at the man, scared to let go even as he gasped into his mouth in a choked back sob.

When Kelly pulled back it was to rest his forehead against his. "Stefan."

The brunette sucked in a sharp breath, and stiffened reactively to the name that echoed in his dreams like some haunting banshee wail. He forced himself to relax. "Well, that's disappointing." He sighed, a hand to the kissing man's chest to push him back a step, hand lingering, reticent to break contact despite the ill givings the name provoked. "Sorry, gorgeous, no 'Stefan' here. The name's Tom Avery."

Kelly was reluctant break contact as well, palm still at the brunette's nape as he ducked his head, Russian blue searching forest green. There was something, the werewolf had no doubt. Whether in was magic amnesia or not, that kiss was pure Stefan. "You really don't remember?"

Tom gulped quietly. Ever since his freak accident, he had trouble remembering his past with any true clarity, whether this man was a part of that somehow... well, it certainly felt like his _body_ remembered. "A kiss like that? Trust me, I would remember." Tom told him. "You ever get over this Stefan guy, maybe you could give me a call. If that kiss was an indication," his gaze flickered obviously to Kelly's mouth, longing seeping through before he pushed it away. "I think we would get on great."

"Connor!" Kelly called over his shoulder suddenly, making Tom jolt.

Connor approached, clearing his throat. "Hello."

Tom eyed the bearded man for a moment. "Are you going to kiss me, too?" he wondered.

Connor blinked and rapidly shook his head with an affirmative "No."

"Good." Tom said eliciting twin looks of surprise, his green gaze continuing to subconsciously drink the doctor in. "Because, no offence, you're very handsome but I just have a feeling that it would be _very_ inappropriate."

"No offence taken, I agree." Connor said, his heart pounding in his chest as he shared a quick glance with Kelly. "And I'm sorry about him."

"Don't be," Tom smirked at Kelly, "That was the best kiss I can ever remember having." Kelly couldn't help the mirrored smirk and wink. "So, gentlemen," he finally forced the connection to break as he stooped down and snatched up the dropped clipboard and pen. "What can I do for you?" he sat back on the bumper of the ambulance, pen scratching paper, glancing up at the pair.

"I'm Dr Connor Rhodes and this is Lieutenant Kelly Severide."

"Ah. Did you work the mass casualty yesterday? I can't say I remember seeing you, but I was a little distracted." He said wryly.

"We did," Connor nodded, glancing a Kelly. "I actually saw you. You were fighting with your partner over a patient. Do you know how she's doing?"

"Yeah, she's critical, but still hanging in there."

"That's good to hear," Connor said with sincerity. "But that's not actually what we wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay." Tom glanced uncomfortably between to two, reluctant to voice the next prompt because he had a feeling it had to do with the whole 'Stefan' business. "What _do_ you want from me, then?" The instinct that urged him to hold on tight and never let go, was the very same one that told him to run, to disappear. "Actually," he interrupted, relief flooding silently through him as he caught sight of his shift partner returning through the automatic doors. "I’m kinda on a double-shift right now." His radio squawked in his defense as he jumped to his feet, forcing them back a step when he slammed the back doors shut. "And that's us. Gotta run!"

Connor at least managed to shove his card into Tom's hand before the paramedic rushed around the side and hopped into the ambo, its lights flashing as it sped out of the bay.

"He couldn't get out of here fast enough." Kelly muttered.

"Can you blame him?" Connor scoffed. "You just went up and laid one on him—and then called him someone else's name!"

Kelly shook his head. "I called him by _his_ name. That was Stefan, Connor, the way he kissed... there's no doubt."

"How do you know doppelgängers don't kiss the same?" he challenged.

"Katherine and Elena didn't."

"How do you know that?" Connor demanded suspiciously.

Kelly shot his a disgusted look. "Stefan told me once." Katherine was a mistake he could never regret because it brought him to Stefan, but the mere thought of being intimate with Elena made him shudder. "Do you think he'll call?"

"Would you?"

Kelly sighed, stuffing his hands in his leather jacket, and glowered after the long disappeared ambulance. "It was really him. You caught that comment about you two kissing being inappropriate—I mean, other than that being a good general rule to have in life?"

Connor nodded in acknowledgement but glared at him before turning away and heading back toward his car. "You should just be glad you don't have the competition—you would lose."

~ **_T V D_** ~

_Meredith stared at the patient chart in her hands and then stared some more, the data meaningless, her mind a thousand miles away to the Mystic Falls Cemetery. Being here was pointless. She thought coming to the hospital would take her mind off the fact that come morning, Alaric would be dead, but it was as quiet here as it was at the graveyard and barring a major incident, well._

_A bitter laugh bubbled up in her throat, choking her. She should have just gone to her empty apartment and stash of bourbon._

_Meredith sucked in a sharp breath at the unexpected touch to her shoulder, whirling around, the charts falling from her fingers. A supernaturally fast hand snatched them from the air. "Stefan!" she huffed, quickly clearing her throat and taking back the charts. She surreptitiously looked around, but the one night nurse that was at the station paid her no mind._

_"I didn't mean to startle you," Stefan told her softly. "You were pretty zoned out and I'd already called your name."_

_Meredith left the patient file at the station. "It's okay." She casually wiped her eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Elena and Jeremy."_

_The corners of his mouth tightened. "I'm not what either of them needs right now."_

_She nodded in understanding. "So, I'm your pity comfort, then." She mused, tucking her hands into her white coat pockets._

_Stefan fell into step beside her. "I've been worried about you."_

_"Don't be." She told him, staring straight ahead._

_"Mer," he grasped her by the elbow, forcing her to stop in the empty corridor._

_"Stefan," she said, wary and confused, watching as his gaze darted, searching, before he pulled her unexpectedly into an empty exam room. "What are you doing?"_

_"After Ric stabbed you," he started and she winced at the reminder, "When I was healing you I... felt something."_

_"Felt something?" she was confused._

_"How have you been feeling lately? These last few weeks."_

_"Stefan, are you--?" she stepped back from him. "Are you trying to say I'm **sick**?"_

_"No!" he quickly assured. "You're not **dying** , Meredith, but... **have** you been feeling sick? In the morning," he added more bluntly._

_Meredith gaped at him for a minute, then gave an incredulous bark of laughter like he was out of his mind, or maybe she was losing hers. "Are you trying to say that I'm **pregnant**?"_

_He pursed his lips, his green gaze darting to her stomach. "Yes, that's what I'm telling you."_

_"No." She said. "No." She repeated more emphatically. "I can't be pregnant, I just can't. So, no, I'm not." She made for the door, but he stepped into her path, gentle hands on her shoulders._

_"Mer," Stefan murmured with sympathy and understanding. "I know." He hugged her. "I'm sorry."_

_"Are you **sure**?" she questioned, voice muffled in his shoulder as she panted and her eyes burned with unshed tears._

_"We can check to be sure."_

_Meredith clung to his solid, steady form for a moment longer before she nodded and pulled away. She pulled the ultrasound machine from the corner and booted it up. She hopped onto the table and pulled her blouse up, squirting the cold gel below her navel, but her fingers trembled with the wand._

_"May I?" Stefan's hand was steady over hers and she nodded her confirmation._

_Meredith closed her eyes and laid back, trying to take deep steady breaths in an attempt not to start screaming in the silence as she felt the wand glide through the cold gel on her lower abdomen. She swore her heart stopped the same second that the wand stopped._

_"Mer," Stefan said softly._

_And Meredith fortified herself for the answer she already knew as she opened her eyes, turned her head, and looked at the grainy picture on the screen. She made a keening sound of grief in the back of her throat. Stefan took a still and put the wand away. She looked trapped, staring at that picture._

_"He's going to die and he won't ever know." She finally spoke, her voice so quiet and lost. "I have to-to tell him. Maybe--"_

_Stefan put a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off and finally drawing her focus. "He can **never** know, Meredith."_

_She stopped and stared. "What? But it's over!" she protested. "Esther's dead. Klaus and his hybrids are leaving town. And you saw him, Alaric's himself again--"_

_"No, Mer." He corrected her. "Esther was dead for a 1000 years plotting the death of her children. Death won't stop her a second time. And Ric... I know darkness, Meredith, and it has its claws in his soul, deep. If he were ever to turn, the man you know will be lost forever because he won't just be a vampire with his humanity switch flipped, it'll just be his Darkness._

_"I've been remiss for you to come back, especially given what's happened the past three years since I've returned myself. You've almost been here a year, Mer, you've seen what it's been like—and there's no sign of it stopping. This? This is the calm before the shit storm."_

_Meredith scoffed. "If the shit storm is up and coming, what the hell do you call what's happened so far?"_

_"Spring Showers."_

_Meredith started a her long distant vampire uncle, incredulous, speechless and honestly—frightened. Stefan really didn't see fit to sugar-coat it and the few lingering doubts she may of had were quickly drained away like blood gushing from a severed artery. She already knew she needed to leave, but as fucked up as this place was, Mystic Falls was her home and she had family here._

_"I'm an adult, Stefan." She told him stubbornly, standing from the exam table. "The choices I make are my own and no one, not even you, is going to take that away from me."_

_"You're family, Mer. I'll never stop trying to protect you." Stefan told her with conviction. "And it's not just you, you need to think about any more, who you have to make those choices for."_

_Meredith looked back at the frozen picture of her uterus on the ultrasound screen and tears pooled in her eyes. "You're right. I know you're right." She slumped back against the table in weary acceptance._

_Stefan squeezed her shoulder in comfort and reassurance. "You have to leave tonight, Mer, but I'm not just going to send you off alone."_

_Meredith sniffled and wiped her eyes, looking at him with obvious surprise. "You're coming with me?"_

_"What's the point of you leaving Mystic Falls if I'm just going to go with you and drag all this crap with me?" he said with self deprecation. "No. I was thinking Mason Lockwood."_

_Now she was confused. "Mason Lockwood?"_

_Both from Founding Family's, they were clumped together by association, but had actually found fast and easy friends in each other growing up. But he left for wetter pastures as soon as he was able and she went off to medical school. Somewhere in the middle, they lost touch, and then he was dead. "He's missing, but as a Founder around here, that really just means he's dead."_

_But Stefan shook his head. "As you by now know, the Lockwoods are cursed with the werewolf gene."_

_"I'm aware. are you saying that's what happened to Mason?"_

_"Katherine, in her scheme to get out from under Klaus' bad graces, collected the four key ingredients for the Sun and Moon Curse ritual to free his werewolf side: a human doppelgänger, Elena, a vampire, she turned Caroline for that purpose, the moonstone, but even before all that, Mason." Stefan explained. "She specifically tracked him down for his access to the moonstone, which had been in his family's possession since 1864 when she traded it to George Lockwood for her freedom and faked death, and because he has the gene. She called herself Kathy and pretended to be his girlfriend—and then she compelled his best friend to attack him. Mason killed him in self-defence. And he triggered the curse that he didn't even know he had." Meredith looked sick. "Katherine convinced him to come back to Mystic Falls and look for the moonstone under the claim that it could break his werewolf curse. Things got messy and complicated and Damon, well, Damon being Damon decided he was going to torture Mason for information and then kill him."_

_"Oh," Meredith said in broken disappointment. "I thought you were going to tell me he was alive."_

_"I couldn't let that happen," he continued in confession to her, "So, I implanted the memory of Damon killing Mason."_

_Meredith gasped softly. "So, Mason's alive?"_

_A little smile briefly touched his mouth. "Damon thinks that he actually did, and after a taunting phone call to Katherine with that belief, so does she. I smuggled Mason out of Mystic Falls and got him a new identity so no one from here could ever find him or ever think he was out there to find."_

_"Stefan, that's..." Meredith was utterly floored. "Do you realize how incredible and frightening it is that you can do that? You implanted an entire memory into your brother’s head, made it **real**. You just made Mason disappear."_

_"And I'm going to make you disappear, too, Meredith." He informed her._

**MED|** CHICAGO **|FIRE**

Stefan never called. Connor was disappointed, but not surprised. He had to resist the temptation to track down Tom again, he knew Kelly was resisting the same urge, but thought to actually go through with it would drive the brunette further away. He decided to hold onto his earlier declaration of 'Stefan will find us. He always does.'

That logic left him when Natalie got a call from Elena Gilbert, the princess of terrible, no good news. Actually, it was good, incredible news—Alaric Saltzman was back from the dead; still of the undead variety, but himself and kicking it around Mystic Falls once more.

Natalie's breath had been stolen from her body at that tidbit of information.

Connor squeezed her hand. "Shit, Nat. Did you talk to him? Are you going to tell him about Owen?"

With lips pursed, Natalie shook her head. "I-I can't. I'm glad that he's alive and as back to himself as he can be while being a vampire, but no. I left Mystic Falls for a reason. I understand now why Stefan was so adamant about me leaving, about never letting you step foot there, Connor." She said vehemently, "Mystic Falls will never get my son."

But it was the story that got them there, that left a lot to be desired for the Chicago Haveners.

Mystic Falls had been invaded with a tribe of nomad witches called Trevelers, with two goals in their agenda. The first, was to free their beloved, long dead leader, Markos, from the Other Side. With the sacrifice of 12 of their coven, the souls of the dead overwhelmed the newly made Anchor to the Other Side, Bonnie Bennett, weakening the veil between worlds and allowing Markos to cross back over into the land of the living. It was that, that had allowed Alaric to make the same crossover. Now, with their leader back, the Travelers were after doppelgänger blood—more specifically, the blood of the last remaining doppelgängers of each line. With Katherine made mortal and killed by Stefan, that left Elena as the last of Amara's line, but with Stefan dead, that was a wrench in the works. They stole Stefan's body from the Salvatore crypt, and seeing as you couldn't get blood from a sixth month dead and desiccated vampire corpse, they'd all come to the unanimous conclusion that the Travelers were trying to perform a location spell.

Connor, Kelly, and Natalie knew that if they the Travelers succeeded, it would lead them straight to Chicago and Tom Avery.

...

With this looming threat, Natalie didn't think she could just stand on the sidelines and watch Connor and Kelly kick up mud, even if it was unintentional. Neither man thought or reacted particularly rationally when it came to Stefan Salvatore. They had sputtered and protested when she decided to take charge, so she relegated them to the backseat like the children they were behaving.

"The two of you combined make _most_ of a good influence for Owen, and most of that is because I've kept you two in check from doing some stupid things—this is one of those times." Natalie lectured them as she drove toward Mercy West.

She also left them in the car as she disappeared into the hospital. She found out Tom Avery wasn't working, and in fact had been out sick the past couple of days. That, coupled with the nurse's comment of "He's been a popular man this week!" didn't sit well with the paediatrics doctor, but with some finagling, Natalie managed to persuade woman to give her a home address.

Connor scrutinized her composed expression from the backseat reflected in the rear-view mirror, and knew her too well not to know it was a mask obscuring her concern. "What's wrong, Nat?"

"Tom's been out sick the last couple days."

"It's too much of a coincidence to be anything but suspicious," Kelly growled, his eyes flashing amber.

"I agree," Natalie said, pulling into the street from hospital parking. "It also sounded like we weren't the only ones asking after him." Connor cursed. She sighed, "Let's just hope for the best." Natalie soon parked in the apartment complex's lot. They climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and Natalie was the one to knock, the men behind at either of her shoulders, flanking.

They waited and Kelly was quickly growing inpatient with lack of response, more than ready to kick the door in and flash his badge with the claim of inspection if anyone got too nosey, before they all tensed in anticipation at the scrape of a door chain being removed and the door was pulled open.

The paramedic's green eyes automatically took in the two men, but really, he was left blinking at the woman, a little startled. The sentiment was returned by Natalie; she didn't know why she was particularly surprised when she came face-to-face with Stefan Salvatore's doppelgänger.

"Stefan," Kelly uttered in relief, breaking the weird moment, unable to stop himself at the sight of the brunette, seemingly unharmed before them in a pair of faded blue jeans, a plain grey t-shirt, and comfortable red plaid button up.

"Actually, I'm called Tom Avery here." He corrected. Tom looked to the woman again, whose eyes were narrowed in scrutiny of him. "You brought a woman with you this time so I would feel less threatened?" he mused. "First, you corner me at work, now you've tracked me down at my home. You realize this constitutes stalker-like behaviour? Why shouldn't I call the police?"

"You're life is in danger--"

Tom rolled his eyes at the firefighter. "That's even more of a reason to."

Natalie raised her hands, effectively cutting off Connor and Kelly's protests and turned her attention back to the wary paramedic. "Tom, my name is Natalie Manning, I work with Connor at Med. I know how this looks and sounds—but if we can come in, explain, clear this whole thing up? I don't think you would appreciate your neighbours overhearing what we have to say. I know these two haven't done a good job of it."

Tom couldn't help the smirk at the corner of his mouth as the two sputtered at the pointed remark. "Well, clearly they _did_ do something right when they brought you along this time, Natalie." They quieted at that and there was a silent moment as he regarded them before he sighed and stepped back, pushing the door fully open to allow them entrance. "You are right about the neighbours." He locked the door behind him.

"Are you moving out or still moving in?" Natalie wondered when she noticed the boxes in the living room.

Tom shrugged. "I've been a little busy to bother with it." He went into the kitchen area, turned on the electric kettle and let the coffee machine percolate. "So, what is this danger that two doctors and a firefighter know about, but shouldn't exactly warrant a call to the police?" he questioned, the three exchanging a glance behind his back as he grabbed down three mugs and a glass.

Connor cleared his throat. "Do, ahem, do you believe in the supernatural?"

"Like ghosts?" Tom's tone was flabbergasted.

"Sure. Ghosts. Vampires, werewolves. You know..."

"Are you three like the Ghost Busters or something?" Tom was just amused now as he made a tea and two cups of coffee. "Am I being haunted?" He grabbed orange juice and vanilla creamer from the fridge. "That's cute." He handed out tea to Natalie, vanilla creamer coffee to Connor, and black to Kelly.

"Not Ghost Busters," Natalie said, taking a surprised, but appreciative sip of tea. "Not a ghost. Witches. We're worried about you." She jerked her chin at Kelly. "Show him."

Kelly's brow raised his brow in brief surprise before he shrugged and set his mug down.

"You gonna kiss me again, gorgeous?" Tom asked.

Kelly gave him a flirty grin before he focused—and his Russian blue eyes flashed to amber canine eyes.

The man didn't even flinch. "Neat trick," Tom chuckled. "Are you offering to become my guard wolf, or something?" he went into the kitchen for his OJ.

Natalie and Kelly exchanged surprised looks, but Connor's gaze was staring into his coffee like it bore all the answers—and as he tasted vanilla on his tongue, he realized that it did. He slowly looked up across at Tom—no, Stefan—and uttered: "You knew. Vanilla creamer. You've remembered?"

"Connor?" Natalie question.

"He never asked us how we like our coffee." He explained crisply, unable to take his gaze from his _zio_.

"Earl Grey, one sugar." She realized, looking from her tea to Stefan in disbelief. She put the mug down like it was tainted. "Why the charade?" Nat asked, her voice low and angry.

Kelly's jaw clenched. "'Cause he wasn't planning on sticking around. ' _Too busy to bother with it?'_ " he scoffed.

Stefan looked at each of them, into their hurt and anger. He frowned and turned into the kitchen, unconsciously putting the counter between him and his guilt. "I wasn't planning to go anywhere." He promised. "I was going to come find you when I got the chance before I returned to work, I just needed to sort some things out first." He glanced at Natalie, "I've been remembering for real the past couple weeks." His arms crossed. "Before, it was just... dreams. Every night." Fingers dug into his plaid covered biceps. His gaze drifted. " _Nightmares_ really. Haunting. Lonely." He shook his head, shaking himself out of it. "I've been working a lot." He picked up his drink, unable to look at any of them. Stefan was in the middle of a drink when Kelly grabbed the glass, sloshing orange juice down the front of his shirt before slamming the glass onto the countertop, effectively smashing the glass. "Kelly--!" his surprised protest was silenced by lips.

Stefan gasped, shuddering. His fingers trembled as they curled into the soft leather lapels, behind his eyes burning with tears as he left himself for Kelly to hold together.

"If it's an consolation, that kiss of yours put a fissure in my psyche and made me start wanting to actually remember."

"I'll brag to Connor about it later."

Stefan gave a small chuckle before he backed up a step, tugging his wet, cold shirt from his skin with a grimace. He cleared his throat and glanced across at the other two. "I know we need to talk, but just give me a minute to change my shirt." Without giving them a chance to respond, he quickly squeezed passed Kelly from the kitchen and went down the short hall that led to the single bedroom and connected bathroom. Kelly followed his quick escape.

Tommy glowered after them, his lips pursed. "And they just expect us to quietly wait here while they.... _do it_?"

Natalie grasped his forearm and pulled him onto the sofa next to her. "Like you wouldn't if you were in their situation." She twined their fingers together, hands resting on his knee.

"At least I'd wait until the family members weren't in the apartment." Connor groused and Nat snorted quietly. "It's like finding out my dad has a sex life."

She just patted him on the chest in amused sympathy. "Better get used to it."

Without Kelly's warmth to distract him, Stefan was closing in on a panic attack, could feel the cold spreading across his chest, trying to work its way into his heart. He quickly discarded the plaid shirt, and ripped the wet tee off overhead with a gasp of relief.

"Stefan," Kelly uttered in concern from the doorway.

Not having heard the werewolf's approach, Stefan spun around in surprise, his arms crossing over his chest instinctively, but the action did very little to obscure the extensive scaring on his upper chest. "I said I'd only be a minute."

"Like I'd let you outta my sight for that long," his voice was gruff, pain and confused anger in his eyes, his gaze trained on the burn and surgical scar on the brunette's chest. "What happened? It looks just like--"

"I'm human now," Stefan muttered quietly. "I scar. And ripping my soul from one body and shoving it into another isn't an easy a feat as snapping your fingers, magic or not. There's... blowback." With a lump in his throat, he turned from Kelly just as fast as he turned to him.

"Stop," Kelly said, and when Stefan continued digging around for a shirt, he grabbed his arm, pulling him around. "Stefan."

Like always, Stefan never fought against him when he did. "Stefan Salvatore is dead," he said. He swallowed and licked his lips, "It's Tom Avery now. Please, just... can you...?" he pleaded.

His eyes were sad as he searched the paramedic's before he gave a small nod. "Stefan Salvatore is dead." Kelly repeated softly, and continued repeating, "And you were born in his wake, _free_ of Mystic Falls. There's nothing left for you there, all you need is here... Tom." Tom slumped against him in relief. "No matter what body you're in, I'll always know _you_." Kelly murmured in his ear. "I've missed you. I'm not leaving you behind this time."

"And I'm not going anywhere." Tom pulled back, but just enough to kiss Kelly. It was open and slow and soft, he wasn't going anywhere, so there was no rush or urgency or desperation, but it did turn a little heated as Kelly's calloused palms roamed across muscled back and Tom palmed a firm buttock through jeans.

"Ahem!" Connor called pointedly from the living room, "Niece and nephew still present here in the next room, if you don't mind?"

Tom snorted and pulled away. "We can finish this later, first, gotta talk to the kids."

Kelly rolled his eyes but let the man go to pull on a shirt after a final kiss. "Connor does seem like a daddy's boy. I get the feeling he's going to be a real cock-block."

Tom just took his hand as he passed and pulled him along after him back to the living room. He stopped and took in the two Salvatore's on the couch, yearning in his chest. "Hug first, talk after?" he asked softly.

" _Zio._ " Despite his current upset, Connor still barrelled into his chest like he was eight again. And Tom hugged him back just the same, arm around his back, hand at the back of his head, facing turned into his hair, breathing him in. Finally, Tom looked over at Natalie and opened his arm in invitation.

"Talk, after." She agreed, hugging both of them, her head on Tom's shoulder. "I'm so glad Connor and Kelly weren't just losing their minds and you're okay, Stefan." She murmured.

"It's Tom now, if that's okay." He corrected when they pulled apart.

"I guess you're one of us now." Connor said in acceptance, before his eyes narrowed and he growled: "Now explain."

Tom nodded and waited for the three to sit on the couch. "You said 'witches'," he started. "Meaning Travelers?" they nodded. "So, I'm assuming you're all up to speed on Silas, Tessa, and my 'death'. Presumably via Elena?" He glanced at Natalie for confirmation, who gave a little nod. "I hope you didn't call her back and tell her that I'm actually alive."

"We're smarter than that." Natalie informed him.

Tom nodded in agreement and relief. "Well, you can all rest assured that I'm not in any danger."

"S-- Tom," Connor protested, "They stole your body! We can only assume they're attempting a location spell."

"I kno--"

"How do you even know about the Travelers, exactly?" Kelly questioned suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.

"Because they already tracked me down." Tom said calmly. There were exclaims of alarm, overlapping questions of 'what happened?' and 'are you okay?'.

"Is that why you've been out 'sick'?" Natalie questioned quietly.

"What?!" Connor jumped to his feet. "They hurt you? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'm not--" Tom started, but just sighed, letting the doctor examine him after he refused to be pushed aside. "Connor."

"What is this?" he demanded, pulling Tom's left arm straight, examining the crook of his elbow, green-purple bruising shadowing the skin around the flesh-coloured Band-Aid.

"Connor," Tom repeated, softly but firm, right hand squeezing the man's forearm, drawing his attention away as he looked ready to rip the bandage off and inspect the damage beneath. "It was just a little blood donation. I wasn't feeling as steady as I needed to be, so I called in."

"Donation?" Kelly repeated, stuck on the word. "You're saying you gave it to the Traveler's willingly?! Why would you do that? Do you even know what they need it for?"

"Yes." Tom said calmly. "That's exactly why I gave it to them."

"So, they just told you and you believed them?" Connor asked in disbelief.

"I'm the doppelgänger descendent of a powerful psychic witch, of course I didn't just take them at their word. My abilities didn't just suddenly manifest when I transitioned into a vampire, but granted, it did give me time and the insight to develop the ability properly. They never would have gotten anything from me if I didn't want them to have it."

"What exactly was it that convinced you to give your blood to these guys?" Kelly questioned. "They certainly never told Elena their master plan."

"They're going to rid Mystic Falls of magic." Tom said, stunning them.

"I need to warn Elena!" Natalie exclaimed.

"No." The word wasn't yelled, but the quiet authority had everyone stilling, staring at him in varying degrees of shock and disbelief. "Elena and the others will be fine. But Mystic Falls is finished. I know it seems extensive, but none of you know the true torment of what the people there have suffered at the hands of the supernatural." He looked at each in turn. "Mystic Falls is like a mega hot spot, it's cursed. What the Travelers are doing is saving it, protecting it. Anything magical that crosses it boarders, will be stripped away to its natural state. The only thing mystical about Mystic Falls will be its name." Tom left them to process and returned to the kitchen, using a wet rag to clean up the spilt juice and broken glass.

"Don't they at least deserve to be warned?" Natalie wondered quietly.

"How would you explain you even knew?" Kelly countered.

"Kelly's right," Connor agreed. "Besides telling Elena that you moved to Alaska—which was a terrible cover, by the way," he added.

She glowered. "I was a little preoccupied at the time, if you can recall."

He continued, "How could explain how you knew what the Travelers were up to without outing St-- _zio_."

Natalie finally sighed in defeat after quietly fuming for a moment, but she didn't look entirely happy about it. "You're right, I know."

"You don't have to worry about them," Tom assured quietly. "Do you honestly think I would do this and then just leave Damon and the others in danger?"

"How can you be so sure they'll keep their word?" she questioned.

"They will," Tom said ominously and Natalie wasn't the only one who gave a little involuntary shiver. He cleared his throat and lightened his expression, "If you guys had nothing planned, I thought we could have dinner? I could finally meet Owen?"

"I think that's a great idea, Tom." Nat smiled. "He needs a good male influence in his life."

"I'm also more than happy to baby-sit for free," Tom offered and then smirked when he added, "Looking after Owen too would be no problem."

Natalie laughed while Connor protested. Kelly, on the other hand, got a mischievous glint about him, "I've always had the fantasy of sleeping with the babysitter." He sauntered toward the paramedic.

Connor glowered at him. "That's it." He slashed his hand through the air. "I'm using my nephew powers to veto this. "

"Hell no," Kelly answered before Tom could. "I've had squatter's rights on your _zio_ for the past five years, _il nipote_ ," Connor gapped. Natalie shared a long suffering sigh with Tom, but his green eyes were light and there was a smile on his face. It was a rare sight on Stefan Salvatore's face, but it looked right at home on Tom Avery's. "Now that I got him here, I'm not letting him go for anything. You tried to nix my True Love's Kiss and now I've got bragging rights, too." And pulled Tom in for a devastating kiss.

**< aRRoW>**

_It had all been going to plan, or as much as anything could ever really go to plan. Tommy went to Guadalajara, Mexico for his residency. He got to work, he got busy, Thea stayed with him over the summer and they had the expected ups and downs and it was good for them—and then he'd gotten that alert from Oliver's email and he'd jumped on a plan to Hong Kong. Why had he been so stupid? So naive? There had always been hope. Without a body there was always hope. But now he had none and he couldn't face going home to Starling City, couldn't face looking Moira and Thea in the eye with this new reality, so he didn't go home, he went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia instead. And after two years of hiding, he'd gotten that fateful call that Ollie was alive and coming home, so Tommy came home too..._

_Tommy screamed, the sound ripped from his throat and left to echo back at him from the ether. Thousands, millions of voices and experiences from over his lifetime overlapped, collided, and resounded in an overwhelming culmination on the rollercoaster to the afterlife. The good, the bad, and every conceivable moment in-between._

_The tracks stretched before him. Loop-de-loop, sharp banks, swirls._

_Tommy's breath caught as his car rose and rose, the track of his life stretching high above, the pressure in his chest mounted the closer he got to the crest that would drop him into the dark abyss that awaited him at the end of the track._

_Absolute silence, like a vacuum in space as he teetered on the edge, wavering forward._

_He let out a sharp gasp as he was slammed back into his seat with a hand on his chest, rocking back from the edge. " **Zio** ," he gasped, looking over at the vampire in the seat next to him, tears and pain etched into his blue eyes. "You're just in time to say goodbye."_

_Stefan shook his head. "I told you I would always look after and protect you, I never said anything about ever saying goodbye."_

_Tommy gave a bitter laugh, tasting blood. "I'm literally on the precipice of my afterlife, I don't think there's anything to do **but** say goodbye."_

_Stefan just gave him a reassuring look. "They'll be okay without you, that doesn't mean you won't always be wanted or missed. Tommy Merlyn might be dead but I'm not letting **you** go anywhere." Stefan vowed._

_"You're not making any sense, Stefan."_

_Stefan smiled, "You'll understand when you wake up."_

**[END]**

**~ _The Vampire Diaries_ ~ & <aRRoW>**  
**& Chicago|MED & Chicago|FIRE**


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